Jormungandr
by ThexOnexWhoxWanders
Summary: Thor is king of New Asgard. Zora is the new captain of the Avengers. But this king is looking for his queen, and he thinks he might have found her. Oh, and then there's Loki and a certain astrophysicist intent on building the new Bifrost. Thor/OC, Eventual Loki/Jane Post-Ragnarok. Pre-IW. Very AU.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N** : I live in my own alternate universe. So this is an AU AU. Never thought I'd be writing a Thor/OC fic…. _[tears up]_ … Oh, how my boy has grown up. Anyway, more about the AU AU. I like the idea of a female Captain, have played around in my own unpublished fics about how Rogers either steps down or is forced out after Civil War [not at all bc I want him to], and don't really know much about Captain Marvel… hence my OC, who I work with a lot for development reasons. Fancy way of saying: sorry if this is confusing to you. If it is not, then yay!

Just to be really clear, there has been no prior romance between Thor/OC before this fic. Just an implied crush, I suppose. That is all. It's like a start-from-scratch, but not too slow of a slow-build… if that makes any sense outside of my own brain. Also, possible Loki/OC (same OC) and, if it somehow happens to work into my plot, Thor/OC/Loki. We shall see.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers. If I did, Loki wouldn't have died and IW would have been a soap opera.

Warnings: Strong language.

* * *

 **One** :

The Return

One would think that Captain Zora Haque was accustomed to being awoken at strange hours of the night by the building's AI system. There was, after all, an entire planet to safeguard; catastrophes happened every minute, and if they were able to help, then the Avengers damn well would. This was something FRIDAY typically decided, according to the parameters Tony had meticulously set up over several days of brooding, not eating, and not sleeping: an entire programmed checklist of whether or not such-and-such issue required Avengers' intervention or not. It was not their initiative to undermine local, state, or federal law enforcement, no matter the country. It was their initiative to help.

So to wake on this evening to FRIDAY's lilted voice alerting the Avenger's captain of an incoming alien spacecraft should not have been horribly surprising. It really shouldn't have been. But as soon as the word alien rolled off of FRIDAY's extremely metaphorical tongue, Zora had one jolting thought: Thor.

She rolled out of bed with the grace of a cat, though she felt anything but. The evening air had been cooler when she'd gone to bed, which had left her confident enough to shove her window open and be lulled to sleep by the chirping of crickets one simply couldn't appreciate several dozen stories up in the middle of Manhattan. However, as the night had progressed and made its way towards morning, a strange humidity had thickened the air, creating a cold sweat on her skin. She could taste it; like smoke, like electricity.

Thor.

Swiping at her sweaty forehead, pulling several damp strands out of her face, Zora quickly threw on a t-shirt and jeans, shoved her feet into her favorite pair of boots, and stumbled outside.

'Alien spacecraft' was definitely one way to describe it. Zora was not the only facility employee to be standing outside in haphazardly thrown-on clothes, gawking at the truly massive _thing_ sitting in their own backyard. It was shaped like a large freighter ship, as if it were made mostly for cargo, with the most obvious difference being that it could fucking fly. The helicarrier was just as impressive, true… But the helicarrier was not from outer space and didn't have as many lights blinking rapidly throughout it, creating a dizzying affect that forced Zora to place her hand against the cool metal side of the dormitory building in order to collect herself.

There was a hiss, a loud shifting and cranking of gears, and suddenly a hatch had opened up, revealing the one person she was certain she'd never see again.

 _Thor._

Lots of other employees, recruits, and even Avengers rushed forward to greet the Asgardian prince merrily, but Zora held back, stiff. Her breath felt tight in her lungs; compressed, stuck. She wasn't even sure she _could_ breathe. Because there he was: two years of no contact, not a fucking word or idea if he was alive, and there he was.

Missing an eye, it seemed, and sporting a new haircut that made him look only that much more godlike, but there he fucking was.

There was a lot of pomp and circumstance. A lot of questions that FRIDAY threw at her – _I sense nearly one-thousand other bodies on board the ship, ma'am. What would you have me do?_ and _Shall I have a room set up for the prince, ma'am?_ and _Are you okay, ma'am_?

"Uh, yes," Zora answered to that last one, her voice wavering, teetering towards uncertain. "Yes, I'm okay, FRIDAY. Thanks for asking. Use whatever empty rooms we currently have to house… whoever else is on board that ship. You said they were friendlies, right? Good. But a thousand – fuck. Maybe put some calls out. Local hotels. Spread it out. Don't want the news getting ahold of this just yet. We need to keep this as quiet as possible."

" _Of course, ma'am_ ," FRIDAY answered easily. " _Perhaps now is a good time to mention the extra sublevels Sir had built several years back during his Y2K phase. It has a great deal of living space that should be sufficient."_

Zora blinked. "I am storing that information away for later for _very_ nefarious purposes, FRIDAY."

The AI chuckled. " _Yes, ma'am. You should mention in particular the food stash. Sir had a fixation for canned meats at the time. It was… an unfortunate period of time for Miss Potts, I have been told. For the present, I will see how we can house our new guests."_

"Thanks, FRIDAY," Zora replied. "Always good to know you're here."

So many people had surrounded him. Were whooping and hollering (Tony), firmly shaking his hand for far too long a period of time (Steve), and pulling him into a warm hug (surprisingly, Natasha). Thor's smile was blinding. Truly blinding. Sometimes, Zora wondered if the others ever looked at him – his physiological likeness to human beings – and forgot that he was _other_. But she never did. His smiles were blinding and his presence was sharp and distracting and heady and his eyes – his eyes had finally found _her_.

He stared at her from across the grass and people and chaos that separated them and offered the smallest, most tentative of smiles. Shy. Uncertain.

Zora wasn't sure if she felt sick or… was that butterflies?

Fuck, get it together, Haque.

Offering a small smile of her own, Zora nodded at the prince. But she made no effort to move. His eyes had her pinned to the spot, anyway. She wasn't sure it was even possible for her to move.

And then something truly horrible, catastrophic, and completely unexpected happened. Loki – fucking Loki of Asgard, burdened with his pretentious and stupid fucking glorious purpose, Loki, would-be-conqueror of Midgard, Loki, murderous younger brother – stepped up behind Thor like a slick shadow, his eyes guarded, his stance tense as if prepared for an attack, and the chaos all settled down into silence.

If it was possible, the humid air thickened further. She imagined she even felt a cackle of electricity in the air as Thor, in front of his younger brother like a shield, grew apprehensive.

From her distance, she missed what was said. What explanation for Loki's presence Thor managed to give. How everyone seemed to relax after a few minutes – though not completely. She simply stood back and watched, studied, gauged reactions and expressions and shifts.

Then Bruce stepped forward, awkwardly like he always had done, and all went silent for another reason entirely.

Natasha didn't move, at first. Only her bright red hair titillated in the small breeze cutting through the forest. After a few beats of another uncomfortable silence, the red-headed assassin spun heel and sauntered off, a forced-casualness about her form. Bruce stared after her, heartbroken and uncertain.

It was all too much. Being captain of the Earth's Mightiest Heroes certainly threw a lot in Zora's face every single day, but this was all so _personal_.

So she followed Natasha's lead, gave FRIDAY some more tasks to accomplish and made sure there would be space in the faculty's dorms for both princes and Bruce, before turning tail and hiding in her room until the sun rose.

000

The bags under her eyes were so bad that, if she'd been flying commercial someplace nice right about now, she'd get charged extra for additional luggage. She glared at herself in the mirror and willed the blotchy skin to clear up through sheer will alone. Alas, it did not, and she almost looked like how Bucky had described Steve back in the day – always sporting a coupla' shiners, and not in a sexy way.

Still, Zora was never one to get too hung-up on personal appearance. There was work to be done and she was the only one who could do it. That was that.

Having crept into her office around six that morning after getting zero sleep, Zora was three cups of coffee in when there was a soft knock at her door.

Her stomach clenched up. Her hands began to sweat. Why did she have to react like this? So he was back, so what? It didn't change anything… because there had never been anything to begin with. They barely knew one another. Had worked together through Ultron's brief rampage. Had felt that spark, if you could even call it that. That was it. Nada. Nothing else.

 _Get a grip, Z_.

The face that peeked in her doorway was a welcome one. Natasha. Looking just as exhausted as Zora, much to the captain's surprise. Natasha could go without sleep for days and still look like a model.

"Captain," the assassin said, her voice slightly hoarser than usual. "Got a minute?"

"If it'll spare me from more paperwork on the thousand or so Asgardian refugees we just took in illegally, I have several."

Nat smiled, but it was a watered-down smile. Didn't reach her eyes. The assassin slunk into the room and closed the door behind her before settling back into one of the comfy chairs in front of Zora's desk.

"So," Zora said, folding her hands atop the desk. "You look like shit."

Natasha's lips curled up sharply. "Same as you, _dorogaya_."

"I take offense to that."

"I know you don't," the assassin said smartly, fondly. "You take offense to nothing." Then after a beat. "Almost nothing."

Zora rolled her eyes. "You want some coffee?"

"Please."

They sat for nearly fifteen minutes in a companionable silence, sipping their coffees, eyes roving out to the view of the forest beyond Zora's floor-to-ceiling windows. It was uncommon for Natasha to come in for no particular reason and sit. Uncommon, but not unprecedented. And besides… Zora had a niggling feeling that this wasn't for 'no particular reason' at all.

"You wanna talk about it?" Zora finally asked, never once taking her eye off the tall spruce tree she'd taken a liking to whenever she gazed out and needed to think. It was perfectly unsymmetrical; a scrawny thing that made up in height what it lacked in girth and strength. She worried, sometimes, that after a particularly nasty storm, it'd be blown away. Gone, in the blink of an eye.

Pause. "No. Do you?"

Zora smiled as she took another pull of her coffee. "No."

"Can I help with the paperwork?"

"Are you any good at forging my signature?"

Finally, Natasha's grin reached her eyes. "'Good' would be an understatement."

000

 _Tick tick tick_. Zora gritted her teeth. She had banned conventional clocks from her office space and even the common rooms for this very reason: it got on her nerves. Made her feel on edge. She forgot that her wristwatch for that day could be so irritating. She was just looking for some peace and quiet to think, to gather herself.

"I hear congratulations are in order… Captain."

Oh fucking fuck. That voice. Zora would never, _never_ forget that voice. It haunted her. All the jaunts, the playful jibes, the almost flirtatious comments he'd tossed at her when they'd fought Ultron fucking haunted her like a phantom with an obsession.

And yes, okay, yes. Sometimes she imagined that voice saying very, _very_ different things to her. Dirty things that would sound so beautiful off that tongue… No, no, stop. Don't go there.

Fucking _fuck_. She should have known he was there by the slight change in the air around her; a muted electricity, an otherness. A thing that set her blood alight.

Turning to face the Asgardian prince – king, she had to remind herself – Zora kept her face carefully schooled blank.

Ugh. He was leaning against the doorjamb of the common room, his arms crossed over his chest in such a manner that accentuated the bulging muscles of his biceps a little _too_ much, with a shy-smug hybrid of a smile on his lips.

 _Gods help me_.

"Congratulations?" Zora asked dumbly, because those biceps. That smile. What, was she back in seventh grade with a crush again? Fucking shit woman, pull yourself together. Remembering that she most certainly had not been captain back when they'd fought together several years ago, Zora quickly caught up. "Ah, yeah." Rubbed the back of her neck. "A lot has changed since you were last here."

"Not too much, I hope." There was a veiled uncertainty behind those too-blue eyes of his, which darted briefly to her hands before they returned to her gaze. What did that mean? "Although I cannot say I'm surprised. I could sense a great destiny about you, Zora Haque." He smiled ruefully to himself. " _Captain_ ," he corrected.

She considered him a moment. "Um, do I bow? I've heard…" She waved her hand vaguely in his direction, and his eyes lit up with amusement. "That, uh… you also have a new title." She had also heard how he had gained this title, so she knew that there were no congratulations in order. Only condolences.

Smirking, Thor rubbed at his beard – gods, did she mention those _biceps_? – and eyed her. "You are not Asgardian – you need not bow. And while a great deal of things have changed for myself as well, Captain, you must still call me Thor. I will insist."

Yes, those were definitely butterflies. But gods, why did they make her feel almost nauseous? "Then drop the 'Captain' bullshit and call me Zora. And not Zora Haque. That just makes me feel… old."

He almost grinned. "As you wish, Zora."

There was an awkward silence. Was it only awkward on her end? She couldn't be sure. He kept eyeing her as if he knew something she most certainly did not know, and it was setting her on edge.

"So… Loki." Eloquent she was not. But those two words seemed to pull the smile right off Thor's lips and force a sigh.

"Yes… Loki." His uncertainty returned. "I assure you, Zora, that he will wreak no havoc while here. He has changed. This I can promise." Another rueful smile. "Mischief on the other hand… I'm not sure I can promise that we will not suffer some of his more harmless antics."

It seemed like there was a story behind those words, but Zora couldn't quite wrap her head around it yet. Last she had seen Loki… Well. She wondered if Thor even knew. About what Loki had said to her. What he did.

"I trust your word, Thor," was all she could manage. Even those small words seemed to settle Thor's anxiety, though. He smiled at her, really smiled at her, and it felt like the floor had dropped away.

Not a moment later, a frazzled Asgardian rushed into the room. He was young-looking – which could mean he was around thousand years old, probably – but held a forced air of control about him. A new soldier, perhaps?

"Your majesty," the young Asgardian bowed to his king. He offered a nod to Zora. "Captain." Turning back to Thor, he spoke in a language she had never heard before. Old Norse?

After the young boy – man? – had taken his leave, Thor looked regretfully at Zora. "It seems I am needed elsewhere, Captain… Zora. I hope to see you soon, if you will do me the honor of not avoiding me once more."

Zora's cheeks burned bright red. Oh shit. So he had noticed that? Given the amusement in his eyes, he didn't take it too personally, though.

"Yeah. Yes. You will," she assured him.

He smiled at her once more before taking his leave. Zora fell back onto the couch and buried her face in a pillow.

000

Bucky's infamous lady-killing smirk was focused on Zora, though Steve's arm was wrapped around his boyfriend in that protective-don't-hurt-or-even-look-at-my-Bucky-the-wrong-way thing he did. It was cute. Except for that fucking smirk on Barnes' face. Zora glared back at him.

"What?" she finally asked, eyes darting between the pair, settling the book she'd been trying to read on her lap. Steve stifled a grin, pretending to scratch at the beard he was growing, looking anywhere but at the woman he had turned over his title to.

Barnes just shrugged. "Oh, nothing."

"Barnes," Zora growled out. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?"

Did she mention that the Winter Soldier could act like such a fucking diva child?

"Like you're laughing at me."

"I'm not laughing at you, doll. Promise."

"Bullshit."

"A lady shouldn't speak like that."

"I'm not a lady and you know it."

His smirk grew. "Does Thor know it too?"

Ah, so that's why. What a little bastard.

"I have no idea what you're talking about and I don't like what you're implying," she said with a sniff. She tried to refocus her attention on the book in her hands – it was later in the evening, just after the dinner they had all shared together, sans Thor and Loki who'd had Asgardian matters to attend to – and she was trying to _relax_.

"Oh, I'm implying that you wanna fuck Thor," Barnes said matter-of-factly, glancing at Steve for back-up. "Was I not? You know she wants to get down and dirty with Thor, right, Stevie?"

Another suppressed smile. Steve shot his boyfriend a faux-offended expression. "Language, Buck."

"Don't 'language' me. You talk dirty as shit in the bedroom and you know it."

Steve blanched before turning a dark red. " _Bucky_."

Barnes gave his best _innocent is my middle name_ look. "What?"

Shaking his head in resignation, Steve went back to reading his own book. "I'm not going to participate in this conversation."

"Now that's less fun," Bucky pouted, but he was quick to return to smirking at Zora. "Still, I'm just sayin' what we're all thinking."

Zora paused, her muscles coiled up tight. "What? Who else knows… ahem, _thinks_ , that I'm… attracted to Thor?"

Barnes full-on grinned. "Question is: who doesn't?"

000

"We need to double our food supplies," Zora was telling FRIDAY as she sat back in her office chair and spun around thoughtfully, her feet kicking out every once in a while. "Actually, triple it. I don't know what an average Asgardian needs for 'sustenance', but if it's anything like how much Thor and Loki eat, we're going to need the extra food."

" _Yes, ma'am. I can have a shipment delivered as early as tomorrow."_

"That's perfect, FRIDAY. Thank you."

" _Of course, ma'am_."

Zora stared up at the ceiling, hesitant. As if the AI had eyes of her own – well, she did technically, didn't she? – FRIDAY piped up quietly. " _Was there anything else, ma'am?_ "

Ugh. Had she really resorted to this? To asking the AI who oversaw the entire compound about Avengers' gossip?

"FRIDAY… Uh, since there's no other way to ask this and keep my dignity intact, I'm just gonna come right out and ask. Do the others have the impression that I'm interested in Thor?"

FRIDAY's pause was enough to make Zora feel sick. " _While my protocols typically prevent me from sharing conversations and personal information about the others on compound, I feel that I can tell you without any transgression on my part that no, ma'am, the others do not seem to think this. Other than Sergeant Barnes, as you well know."_ Another pause. " _May I inquire why you ask?"_

Zora scratched at a spot on her neck, feeling foolish. Bucky had just been baiting her, then. Smart fucking man. And she had let him get under her skin. "No, FRIDAY. Just trying to make sure drama stays at a minimum here. Y'know, when you pack a compound full of superheroes, things are ripe to get outta hand."

" _Indeed, ma'am_." However, the AI sounded skeptical. Zora nearly scoffed.

At least she could walk around with her pride uncompromised, still. Things didn't have to get any more awkward with Thor for his duration here. They'd figure things out – where to put these Asgardian refugees and this 'New Asgard', as Thor kept referring to it – and then he'd be out of sight and out of mind, yet again.

Well, at least one of those.

* * *

 **A/N:** Take mercy on my poor soul and leave a review if you liked this and want more!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Just wanted to say that this story has a [loose] plot other than romance. Just can't get into it yet until New Asgard is established and such for reasons you shall discover. Also, Jane will eventually come into the story, since she's super badass and often overlooked. No girl hate here!

 **Two** :

The King

"Yes, Mr. Secretary, I do understand that we're on American soil," Zora said with as much patience as she could infuse in her tone. Because they were on a holo-call, she had to be all prim and proper and, the worst part, _dressed_. In her gear. Zora always made it a point to wear her gear whenever she had high-level calls. Being a woman in her position… well, sometimes, she had to remind certain people that she had authority.

The Secretary of State's grey mustache twitched in annoyance. "You're a smart woman, Haque." Condescending much? "So tell me, then – why allow nearly one thousand illegal immigrants onto American soil without alerting us immediately? You know what kind of backlash this'll cause."

Zora glared at the Secretary. "I'm perfectly aware of what I'm doing. They're refugees seeking asylum. Their entire planet was decimated. And you want to, what? Toss them across the border somewhere? What kind of backlash do you think that would have for the government, Mr. Secretary?"

Ah, sometimes she forgot to dial down her tone. Annoyance amped up to anger. The Secretary started pacing in his office, his hands clenched at his sides. "You are not the head of an American organization, Captain Haque. You don't get to decide who comes into this country and who doesn't. Wanda Maximoff, Natasha Romanoff, Vision, and Sergeant Barnes are already residing and working with you without official clearance by our government. Tell me – what is it you're trying to accomplish?"

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Zora sat up straighter in her chair. Her jaw was clenched so hard that her teeth ached. Why she always thought it was a good idea to get into a verbal sparring match with the Secretary, she wasn't sure. Might've had something to do with the fact that he placed several members of her team in that fucking prison, caged them up like animals, and in Wanda's case… well, she didn't want to think about it. But these weekly arguments were beginning to give her migraines.

Settling her hands flat on her desk, releasing a breath to calm herself, Zora said, "Mr. Secretary, the Asgardians are at work negotiating with Norway as we speak. They won't be here indefinitely. Once they manage to secure a deal for New Asgard – which they will, considering Norway's desire to have close proximity to their old gods and the extra tourism that would provide– then they'll be off our soil. Until then, they remain on compound, out of the public eye, and contained. So long as you don't leak their whereabouts, no one will even know they were here until they've left. The only issue I'm seeing is one of pride that they didn't come to you or yours."

The Secretary paused, turning heel to face the holo-screen once more, a muted glare on his face. At least this man could occasionally be reasoned with. "If even one of them steps out of line, then so help me God, Captain."

Zora couldn't help but smirk. "I'm curious what your one God would do with several hundred."

Ah, yet another thing she shouldn't have said. "Even one of them," he reminded her in a growl. Then the holo-call ended, leaving Zora staring at a blank space across her desk.

Sliding down into her chair, Zora buried her face in her hands. Because she knew which 'one' of the gods would be an issue. The fucking God of Mischief… Who she hadn't admitted was very much alive and on American soil once again.

000

(2)

After another long day in her office, going over the remaining paperwork for the Asgardian refugees on compound, Zora wearily closed the glass door behind her and shuffled down the hall towards the common room. Voices drifted towards her the closer she walked – Barnes, Steve, Nat, and of course… Thor.

Emerging from the corridor, she found them all seated in the living room, sipping on drinks Sam was mixing at the bar in the corner, listening to Thor tell one of his many tales. If anyone thought it strange that he had two eyes now, instead of the one, no one mentioned it. Probably because it was very likely Loki had conjured him one?

"It is a planet of detritus," he was divulging, "run by a madman who calls himself the Grandmaster. And when I'd arrived, Loki had already wormed his way into the man's good graces. He didn't have a chair." This last part was said with some bitterness, as if the demi-god was not over this strange fact.

Zora's head cocked to the side, confused. "I feel like I've missed a _lot_."

When Thor's ocean-blue eyes met hers, he smiled. That blinding smile. The one that made her blood shoot too quickly through her veins. "Ah, Zora. Yes, I was just telling the others of what happened when I reached Sakaar. Please, sit." He gestured beside him, where there was a free space, and Zora panicked. "You look stressed, and a good tale will do you some good."

The others – Sam (confused), Bucky (wearing that _stupid_ smirk), Steve (hiding his own smirk), and Natasha (completely unreadable) – stared at Zora and waited for the captain to move. Opting for the empty seat beside Natasha, she read a flash of disappointment on the thunder god's face before he smiled again and started up his tale once more. Sam, thankfully, brought her a stiff drink, and she found herself engrossed in the tale of Ragnarok, Valkyrie, Loki's redemption, and even Banner's – the Hulk's – heroics. Before she realized it, however, the story was over and the others were heading off to their various quarters.

Except for Thor.

"You looked troubled when you walked in," he commented, settling back into the couch. "What ails you, Zora?"

It had been such a horrible idea, requesting that he call her by her first name. It rolled off his tongue too nicely.

Sipping on the third drink Sam had made her, the captain slouched back into her own seat and stared out the window behind Thor, contemplative. "Just the usual," she lied. As a new king to a people without a home, she wouldn't burden him. "Lots of decisions that have to be made, and I guess I'm still often surprised that I'm the one who has to make them."

That was a surprising bit of honesty that she hadn't intended, budded straight from a mistruth. Unsettled by her own unintended candor, Zora frowned at her drink.

Thor was silent for several beats. When she glanced up at him, she found him studying her with his own weariness.

"I suppose you can relate," she said, if only to end the awkward silence. There was a sharp intelligence in Thor's eyes that seemed to have grown since their battle with Ultron. For not the first time, Zora felt like he knew something she did not.

Releasing a sigh, Thor grabbed the handle of the massive beer stein Tony had ordered and brought it to his lips. "Yes," he said, after a hearty gulp. "I suppose I can. Though, I think I may have the easier Fate, between the two of us. I was trained to be king all my life."

"That doesn't mean that it's any easier," Zora pointed out. "Especially not when you've lost so much. Your home, your parents…"

Those blue eyes peered at her knowingly. "If I recall correctly, you have also lost your family."

She couldn't read him very well, but Zora suspected that Thor was attempting to get to know her. The personal details. The things she didn't share with many people. Instead of agreeing or disagreeing, Zora smiled sheepishly at the king. "Are we comparing and contrasting our tragedies now, your majesty?"

Calling him by his title made him frown. But Zora felt that there needed to be more space between the pair. Otherwise, she might find herself lost in that too-blue gaze. Still, he let it slide. This man was a bit different than the one who had fought with her alongside Ultron. Back then, he had still been willing to fight each and every battle presented to him, verbal or physical. Now, he seemed wiser, choosier.

"Zora Haque," well, that was Tit-for-Tat, "I am merely trying to… what is the phrase?" His brows scrunched up as he thought. "Be relatable?"

Her stomach was doing that stupid thing where it set loose a whole zoo of butterflies again. "Why?"

The way he smiled was a bit more reminiscent of Loki, this time around. Mischievous. "Why not?"

Downing the rest of her drink, Zora stared out the window once more. Better to focus on that. Better to not get lost. "How are affairs regarding New Asgard going?" she asked, not only to change the subject but to glean some information on the matter. Two birds. If she had a timeline on the issue, perhaps the Secretary would go easier on her next time.

Without looking at him, Zora could _sense_ the tension in the air. A cackle, just the slightest thing. A lightbulb with the briefest flicker.

"Not well," Thor admitted, running his fingers through his short hair. She'd seen him do that a lot lately, whenever she spied him in the corridors. As if he still was not used to the cut. "The Norwegians ought to be wary, of course – we are an alien species hoping to buy some of their land, which does, as I have learned, violate one of the largest treaties existing in your world. But they are perhaps a touch too wary. Negotiations are… slow. And without Loki's aid, they will be slower still." Thor sighed. "He was the diplomat of the family. Not I."

Zora's fingers clenched into fists. She didn't like hearing about Loki. It put her on edge. The demigod had surely been avoiding her – she hadn't seen him since the spacecraft landed a week ago. It couldn't be coincidence. Loki was _always_ up to something, wasn't he? Perhaps he didn't want to discuss what he had once told her. Perhaps he knew she had many questions.

It was time to cut this conversation short. Standing, Zora gave the king of New Asgard a reassuring nod. "I'm sure you'll figure it out," she told him, though she wasn't sure at all. Just hopeful. "Good night, Thor."

He seemed disappointed at her sudden leave, but didn't object. "Good night, Zora."

000

(3)

"You like him," Natasha said the next day as the pair sparred in the gym, surprising Zora enough that she got swept off her feet and scraped her knees on the training mat.

Glaring through the sweaty strands of hair that had fallen into her face, Zora demanded, "Excuse me?"

Natasha's smile glittered. "Thor," the assassin clarified. "You like him."

"My fucking God," Zora moaned. "You, too? Barnes is already hard to handle."

Helping her partner up, Nat offered a semi-apologetic shrug. "Perhaps Barnes is responsible for the whispers."

"What whispers?"

"That you like Thor. And moreover… That Thor is quite taken with you."

Rubbing the back of her arm across her forehead to clear it of sweat, Zora gave her friend a long-suffering look. "Don't you guys have anything better to do than listen to idle gossip? I barely know him. I think he just sees me as someone to… _relate_ to… since I'm kinda in a position of authority, too." That was definitely it. He had said himself that he was trying to be relatable. It was probably tough on him… what with his best friends getting slaughtered by his own sister.

"Perhaps," Natasha allowed.

Squaring her jaw, Zora readied her fighting stance once more. "Nat, as my friend, I beg of you – kill those whispers." She swiped at the assassin, who ducked the punch easily. "I'm sick of hearing about it, especially when there's so much work to be done."

Nat smiled sharply. She went at Zora with a series of kicks and punches, her Black Widow training coming out at its peak, and the captain struggled to keep up – which was the whole point of their sparring sessions. Finally, several minutes later after Natasha had knocked her on her ass once more, the assassin nodded. "Consider them dead, _dorogaya_. But you move too slowly. Pick up your pace."

000

(4)

There was a man with nearly glowing golden eyes staring at Zora from across the Canteen. He had been staring since she'd entered the room fifteen minutes ago and had kept it up, regardless of the fact that he had so obviously been caught. First, she glared at him. Then, she raised her eyebrows at him in question. Finally, she just stared back at him, curiosity growing. However, as she nibbled on her food, she felt like those eyes of his were looking _through_ her, not at her. It made her skin crawl.

Clearly, the man was one of the Asgardians. Considering that many did not leave their newfound quarters underground – so used to the dark, they were, from such a long journey in space, and also so wary of their new realm – she suspected that this was an Asgardian of some import. Running through a list of known names in her head, Zora quickly decided that he could not be one of the Warriors Three – they were all dead, now – and not Sif for very obvious reasons. Sif was apparently somewhere on Vanahiem when Asgard met her demise; she had yet to be seen or heard from.

That left one name Zora was at all familiar with, which was a sad handful.

After finishing her meal, she stood, brushed imaginary crumbs from her jeans and t-shirt, and approached the man.

His golden gaze focused fully on her; no longer did he appear to be looking _through_ her flesh and blood, but at it. As she took the seat next to him, and observed that his own meal remained untouched, the stranger offered a tiny smile.

"Captain Haque," one of the deepest, richest voices she had ever heard intoned. That voice was pure music. A gift. "It is nice to finally make your acquaintance."

Zora blinked at him. "Yours as well… Heimdall?"

The Gatekeeper smiled with some pride. "My reputation precedes me, though I am without a Bifrost or a gate to the worlds. I suppose there is some relief in that I, too, have also not been lost."

Zora offered up a smile of her own, hoping that it was welcoming enough to the foreigner. "I have to admit, I haven't heard of too many other gods than those who have… already perished. Besides, you were looking beyond me. What is it you see?"

That was how it worked, wasn't it? She couldn't be sure. Heimdall, as Thor had described on one occasion, was all-seeing. It was why he had been Asgard's Gatekeeper for so many centuries. His gift had been greatly appreciated and respected for his realm's security integrity. He, like many of the others she knew, was a legend come to life.

Heimdall's golden eyes looked beyond her once more. A secretive smile just barely upturned his dark lips. "I see a great many things, Captain Haque, even without the Bifrost to aid me. But the present and possible future, in full detail, are a burden that others should never become intimate with. As the saying goes, my gift is equally a curse."

Sitting before such a wise, all-seeing god, Zora felt like a tiny little speck in a universe that did not know her. It was unsettling. To change the subject, Zora asked, "Will you receive a new Bifrost once New Asgard is built?"

Heimdall chuckled lowly. His deep baritone was calming to hear. "You have much faith in our ability to negotiate with the Norwegians," he noted. "I cannot tell the future, Captain, but I fear there will be many obstacles before us. Loki's assistance would benefit us greatly, of course, but that matter is up for his majesty to decide."

"Because Loki is better off presumed dead by the rest of the world, right now," Zora intuited.

"Indeed. He is a… complicated man."

"And Thor?"

A sparkle lit up the man's irises even more than their enrapturing gold. "Thor is as complicated as you wish to make him, Captain."

Well, that was vague and… strange.

"I should leave you to eat," Zora nodded at his full plate. Standing, she gave the Gatekeeper a smile. "It was nice to meet you, Heimdall."

000

(5)

The face that peered into Zora's dimly lit office belonged to the shy and semi-awkward Dr. Bruce Banner. Even to step inside her office, which was open to him as he well knew, seemed to be quite an ordeal. "Captain," he said, drawing her attention away from an upcoming treaty with the UN. "Uh… can I come in?"

Zora grinned up at the doctor. "Of course, of course." She gestured for him to step inside and take a seat, suddenly feeling like a fool. "I'm so sorry, Bruce – I should've checked on you sooner, myself. I'm not sure what I was thinking."

Bruce settled into a chair and waved away her concern. "It's nothing. Plus, I've got Tony breathing down my neck most of the day. He's excited that we can finally 'science' together again."

"I bet. You're the Clyde to his Bonnie, y'know."

This thought alone perturbed the scientist. "I guess it's good that I'm Clyde, then."

"So what brings you here, so late at night? Can't sleep?"

Rubbing at the back of his neck sheepishly, Bruce frowned. "Ah… no. I can't."

Zora gave him a prompting look. "And can I help you?"

Bruce was reluctant. He stared for several moments at the ceremonial Buddhist knife on Zora's desk, seeing but not seeing. "I don't want you to break girl-code, but we need to talk about Nat."

For some reason, this made Zora's heart swell. She tried to contain her excitement – because fuck yes, she was hoping that Nat and Bruce would put the past behind them and continue to explore whatever relationship they'd developed – and instead nodded somberly, because no matter her own personal hopes, Nat and Bruce were grown ass adults. "Okay. What about her?"

Bruce gave Zora a _really?_ look. "You want me to spell it out?"

"If you want me to break girl code, I need incentive and information."

The scientist sighed. He swiped his glasses from his face and cleaned them with his shirt, one of his nervous ticks. "She won't speak to me."

Zora nodded. "I know."

"I know why she won't speak to me," Bruce continued, though he was downtrodden. "I get it. I do. Hulk… me… the both of us. We went away, _far_ away, for too long. We… left her."

An ache budded in Zora's chest. She knew what it was to be left. How much it hurt. "Yeah, you did, Bruce. And it's good you recognize that that was a mistake… right?"

"I don't know. I don't know if it was a mistake or the right thing or what. I just… don't know."

Zora smiled gently. "Then maybe you should spend some time figuring it out… and figuring out how to properly apologize to Nat. That woman… she's locked up, Bruce. The most guarded human being I've ever encountered. And she let you in, only to be disappointed. Betrayed. There's no easy fix to that, it's true, but if you try, and if she sees you trying…" Zora shrugged. "I can't say for sure, but I think that would help."

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose but nodded in understanding. "Well… Where should I begin? She's not exactly the flowers kind of woman."

"No," Zora agreed. "It's gonna take a helluva lot more than that."

000


	3. Chapter 3

**Three:**

The Prince

A week had passed quickly, marking the second that the Asgardians had been on the Avenger's compound. Small issues had arisen here and there – mostly cultural, considering the Aesir were not particularly knowledgeable on Midgardian technology – but had been easily dealt with, to Zora's relief. Vision had personally volunteered to lead 'adjustment' classes each evening for those Aesir who were struggling to adapt.

All in all, it was going quite well.

So it wasn't particularly surprising that some bad luck was thrown her way. Though she wasn't certain if 'bad luck' was the appropriate term. More like inevitable encounter that she had equal parts dreaded and been curious about.

Late one evening, after a rigorous workout with Nat, Zora bounced into her apartment, her Beats headphones on loud. As she hummed to herself, she refilled her empty water bottle and made to open the fridge when the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

There were knives in her hands barely a second later. She'd nearly loosed one on the intruder before she recognized the tall, imposing silhouette standing near her windows, beyond the sofa.

Flicking more lights on, illuminating the God of Mischief giving her a rather unimpressed look, Zora huffed.

"Midgardian Rule #1: Don't fucking break into people's apartments."

Loki's brows furrowed just the slightest in that _who, me?_ way of his. "I didn't break in. I merely opened a small wormhole that happened to lead to these quarters."

What a smartass.

Pretending that her heart wasn't pounding like a war drum, Zora set her headphones and the knives on the kitchen table and took a swig of her water. All in all, he looked… good. Better. Less _grunge-punk Rockstar who hasn't washed his hair in days_ and more _regal, too good for you alien prince who once tried to dominate your world but is really a reformed prankster, now_.

So… good.

"What are you doing here?" she snapped at him, unable to keep the frown off her lips. Glancing at the clock on her stove, she realized it was later than she thought: nearly one-thirty in the morning. "It's late."

He offered her a cold smile. "I thought we should speak."

Ah. So he was ready to stop avoiding her and talk about what happened, then.

Contemplating this, Zora rounded the kitchen island, pulled at the hem of her sweaty shirt uncomfortably, and settled onto her sofa. She'd been pondering how this meeting would go for about two weeks now. So she stuck to the loose plan she had already formed and kept her mouth shut, her eyes on the trickster.

He blinked down at her. After several beats of complete silence and an awkward tumble from her ice machine, he sighed dramatically. "I see you've learned some clever games of your own, agent." His brows furrowed briefly as he corrected, "Captain."

Still, Zora remained silent. She would wait him out. The answers she wanted couldn't be plucked from him so easily – she knew this. He'd have to be the one to give them up.

Another sigh, a deep exhale from his nose, a stiffening of his shoulders. He was wearing a strange new armor – still black and green, interlaced with some gold and silver here and there – but so very different than the armor he'd worn during the Battle of New York. For just a brief moment, Zora wondered if perhaps Loki was as changed as Thor.

According to the thunder god, this was the case. But she'd fucking believe it when she saw it.

"You've not told Thor about… our previous encounter," he finally said, shifting on his feet, green gaze pining her to the couch.

Zora kept her chin up. This man – this god – did not scare her. Not anymore. Or so she'd like to believe.

Deciding to at least appear invested in the conversation – because gods, yes, it was a conversation she'd been wondering about for some time, now – Zora merely said, "No."

Growing impatient, Loki straightened his shoulders. He stared down at her almost like he would a servant… almost. "Why not?"

"Why should I?"

"Cease this game of back and forth," the god growled at her. "Why have you not told him?"

A shrug. "Because it doesn't involve him… right?" She didn't know. She honestly had no idea. "It seems personal. To me." Then she tilted her head, narrowed her eyes. "Why? You want me to tell him you saved my life so you can bask in your new heroic title some more?"

Loki snorted. "No."

She wasn't sure she believed that. "So then… what? You've come to ask me to repay that debt? Or you're finally going to tell me what the fuck happened?"

What happened, as she knew it, was this: it was the Battle of New York. Buildings were collapsing. Behemoth creatures had taken to the skies. And Zora, a mere SHIELD agent at the time, was on the ground in the midst of this warzone, woefully unprepared. She hadn't even known the creatures she was fighting were called the Chitauri until after the fact. But she had slipped up. Found herself surrounded by over a handful of them – the odds were bad, and she knew it. And just before one of their scythe-like weapons lobbed her head off… Loki had appeared. Crazed. Head adorned by that helmet most civilians remembered him by. But he appeared and slaughtered the whole group of Chitauri – his own soldiers – and stared down at Zora with a strange madness in his eyes, a strange understanding, a _something_ that held a meaning she couldn't quite comprehend.

In short, he had saved her life.

And when she had asked, "Why?" that day, so long ago, he had merely replied, "You may yet have a part to play."

That was it. That was all. Words that had haunted her for years.

The God of Mischief that stood before her now, nearly six years later, schooled his expression into a blank mask. "You were there as well as I – you know what happened. What need is there for an explanation?"

At her sides, Zora's fingers clenched into fists. "That's not true and you know it. What part do I have to play?" Then, the question she'd been wondering since that spaceship had landed two weeks earlier: "Is that why you're all here?"

He blinked. For the briefest of seconds, Zora saw surprise etched on his otherwise marble face. Green eyes became measuring for several long beats before he gave up his imposing posture and delicately sat across from her in a stiff, wing-backed chair, like a king taking his throne. "Yes."

Despite knowing in her gut, finally, that this was why they were all here, Zora was still floored by his nod. Her brows pulled together in deep confusion as she stared at him, tried to pick apart his intense gaze, to spot some sort of mistruth or trick. "I thought you couldn't see the future."

Impatience and irritation quickly invaded his blank expression. "I can't. But I had the tesseract and she can show the future – many possible futures – to whoever wields her."

"So you saw this… this possible future, and you chose to save me?" Skepticism drew out deep fissures in her tone.

He frowned. "Had you died that day, Thor would not have chosen to come to Midgard after Asgard's destruction."

"What? Why not? The Avengers would still be here… I assume."

"You assume many things," he said condescendingly, his gaze taking on an edge. "But you would be wrong. The Avengers would be here, yes, but Thor's heart would have taken him elsewhere."

His heart?

Shaking off the words – not even certain what they meant, coming from the lie-smith – Zora asked, "If you knew about Asgard's destruction, then why didn't you stop it?"

Loki snorted at her. "I saw possibilities, Captain. Nothing was certain. I saw a hundred thousand, perhaps a million, possibilities. Some had to do with you. Others did not. Decisions were made that brought us along this strand of reality. Asgard's destruction was only one possibility amidst all of this. I hadn't known it would occur until it was too late."

"And if I don't believe you?"

He stood, an air of haughtiness directed down at her. "It matters not what you believe. But I have at least warned you, haven't I?" These words dripped with a bitterness she didn't understand. "Your own decisions will decide your future and that of New Asgard, Captain. Choose wisely."

And then he was gone.

000

 _Choose wisely. Choose wisely. Choosewiselychoosewisely._

He didn't have to leave her with such ominous parting words. What, was it Loki's job to always say things to her that would haunt her, forever?

Chewing on the cap of her pen, Zora's unfocused gaze was directed towards the windows, unseeing except to replay that scene over and over again in her head. It had to be some trick, of course. She couldn't take Loki's words at face value, no matter how much Thor would likely urge her to. Loki was the God of Mischief and Lies. It was part of who he was.

"Captain," Steve said, interrupting her thoughts. "Uh, should we reschedule this meeting for another time?"

Fuck. "Sorry?" Focusing on the man who had spoken – and the half dozen pairs of eyes now trained on her around the conference room table – Zora felt a blush creep up her neck. "Oh. No." To their presenter, standing uncertain at the opposite side of the table, she nodded. "Please continue. You were discussing the recent amendment to the Geneva Conventions?"

The presenter smiled at her and continued on. Beside her, Steve appeared worried. "Is everything okay, Z?" he asked in a hushed tone.

Flashing him a smile, Zora nodded. "Of course." All the while, she cursed Loki in her head. He had already gotten under her skin again, that bastard.

000

Zora watched the ghostly reflection of herself in the floor-to-ceiling windows as she did her fiftieth pull-up, counting under her breath. The sun had set hours ago and most of the others were upstairs at one of Clint's movie nights, drinking and eating and relaxing after a long week of sporadic missions and daily training. Normally, Zora would happily join them, but she was busy trying to get those words out of her head.

"Sixty, sixty-one…" her breath came out in puffs; the ghostly mirror of herself, lit up by the gym's fluorescent lights around her, looked ready to drop to the mat below and sleep. Which was good. Very good. Twenty more pull-ups, some boxing, and maybe she'd fall into a deep sleep as soon as she reached her rooms.

Behind her, she could see the gym's doors open… and a familiar broad-shouldered, blond-haired king walk in.

Groaning internally, Zora continued with her pull-ups. She tried to keep her eyes off the figure in the reflection but found herself returning to him, tracking his movements, and wondering who the hell had introduced Thor God of Thunder to what appeared to be a Nike track suit. He looked like a Swedish fitness model.

He slipped the jacket off, and even in the fuzziness of the window, she could see how strong he was. The man had a thing for sleeveless shirts.

Sigh.

Dropping to the mat after completing her last pullup, Zora heaved for air and grabbed her water bottle. The gym was large, but not large enough to feign that she hadn't seen him, of course. Wiping away the sweat that had gathered on her forehead, Zora took another swig of her water bottle and approached.

"Thor," she greeted, unable to miss the way the god's smile made the room feel electric. "What are you doing in here? I thought Midgardian workout equipment was… well, like batting at a fly, for you." He stood nearest the dumbbells, which she imagined would be like picking up a sheet of paper for the Asgardian.

Thor grinned at her. "Indeed, you are correct on that. But Stark promised to create a new program for me in the facility's simulator that could compete with the might of a god."

Ah. "The simulator's just through there," she said, nodding at another grouping of doors that would lead him into a globed room, large enough to create a decent battleground for the entire team to train in without cramping up the space.

"I thought so. I was just hoping you might be able to explain something to me."

Zora's heart, which had finally slowed to a normal pace post-workout, picked up speed once more. Had Loki told Thor about what had happened? Would he wonder why she hadn't told him, herself?

"Oh?"

If he heard the uncertainty in her tone, he kindly ignored it. "Yes. Would you happen to understand what a… security spiral is?" His brows had pinched together as he recalled the phrase.

Zora let out a relieved breath. "A security spiral? Is that something the Norwegians mentioned to you?"

"Indeed. It seems to be our latest issue in negotiations. They worry that our superior might would lead the other Midgardian countries to develop new weapons of mass destruction. And I can't very well argue against them."

"No, I guess you can't." Because it made sense. Why hadn't she thought of that, yet? An Asgardian country, filled with civilians who were more than ten times as strong as Earth's best trained military operatives, would obviously be a huge international concern. Especially if it was feared that those Asgardians, a society of warriors, would want to expand their borders beyond what they would negotiate with the Norwegians.

Sitting down on the sparring mat as she recalled her years of schooling, Zora recounted to Thor, "A security spiral is like this: you want to increase your country's security, so let's say you build a new weapon – a defensive weapon – to make your people feel more secure. But the countries around you see this as a sign of aggression, a build-up towards war. It doesn't matter if your weapon is defensive or not, because it's a weapon and it's dangerous. It makes them nervous. To make _themselves_ feel more secure, they also build a new weapon. And this keeps happening until, eventually, the situation inadvertently spirals into war."

Thor rubbed at his beard and nodded. "I see. The Norwegian ambassador was far less… clear. About the term's meaning." He sighed wearily, leaning back against the glass wall of the gym. "I'm not sure that this is something we could build any argument against. The Norwegians already do not trust us very much, that is clear to me. But they also want something from us. That is why they've remained in negotiations."

"They don't want another country to have the possibility of such close ties with your people," Zora deduced.

Thor nodded. "Exactly. Yet they do not want to trust us, either. And on this matter, I can't blame them. An Asgardian country would upset the precarious balance of power already inherent in Midgardian politics."

"Oh. I didn't realize you knew so much about our politics already. But yeah, you're right. I didn't really consider that before."

Giving her a tired smile, he explained, "Loki has explained much to me, and what he has left out, I have learned on my own. I take this very seriously, Lady Zora. I'm all my people have. But if a Midgardian faction wanted to settle somewhere in Asgard, my people would have been just as wary."

"True…" She drew the word out, thoughtful, and leaned back on her hands. "But there are treaties you can enter into, Thor. Organizations like the U.N. and N.A.T.O. that you can set agreements with. It would certainly reassure everyone that New Asgard isn't settling here to dominate the planet in the same manner your brother tried. If you draw up some peace treaties and show that you're not willing to expand whatever borders you acquire through the Norwegian deal, and that your people will not involve themselves in Midgardian warfare, then… I think that would go a long way in earning yourself some trust."

Thor stared at Zora half in awe and half in uncertainty. "Do you really think so?"

Gaining traction with the idea, Zora nodded emphatically. "Yes, I do. Treaties are sort of just a formality, obviously, but they're a foundation. A good one."

The intensity of his blue eyes was enough to make her heart start pounding again. "You are wise counsel, Lady Zora."

She forced her gaze to the wall behind him, willed her heart to stop its silly pitter-patter again. "I'm happy to help."

"And help you have. More than I can truly thank you for. I…" He broke off his sentence, sounding unsure of himself. Tempting fate, Zora looked to him again but for once discovered it was he who could not hold her gaze. He stared down at his hands, a tiny frown on his lips.

"Something wrong, Thor?"

Intense blue eyes glanced at her. Her stomach felt like she'd lost gravity. He smiled, but it seemed thin, still very steeped in uncertainty. "No, nothing. I simply wonder how I could ever repay you for all the help you've given me. Us. My people." He paused and once again ran his fingers over his short hair. "You welcomed us with open arms and never once showed any doubt about our founding New Asgard here, on your realm. Your kindness comes at a time when very little has been shown to us."

Zora felt horribly put on the spot. This moment seemed important, like one of those moments when you needed to have the right thing to say, but she could think of nothing. Standing, brushing imaginary dust of her workout pants, Zora settled a reassuring hand on Thor's shoulder and wished the blue fire of his eyes would burn her less.

"You don't have to thank me, Thor," she told him. "We're a team. And we have each other's backs."

Later that night, when she was trying to sleep, she'd think of a million better things she could have said.

* * *

 **A/N** : Sorry, the politics is somewhat necessary to the storyline. However, we're moving past that now, for the most part. More Thor/OC in next chapter... things will be speeding up. Also, just realized before I posted this that there wasn't any pairing for this story or characters listed… so hopefully this post helps generate some actual traffic.

R&R!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Thank you to IHeartSPN for the review! It's much appreciated. I'll hopefully be updating more regularly, might even set a time each week to do so. Unusual for me, but would certainly be productive! (Plus, this is helping me continue my other story, Godless (Loki/OC), which desperately needs to be updated.

* * *

 **Four** :

The Leak

Zora had just finished a holo-call with a former ambassador to the UN when her screen suddenly lit up with nearly a dozen reports. Then her office phone began to ring. Next, the holo-phone buzzed, quickly followed by her cellphone. And finally, FRIDAY pitched in: " _Ma'am… I think there's something you need to see."_

Feeling dread coil in her stomach, Zora held still for a moment. "Yeah, I was just thinking that." Gesturing to the ringing zoo that her desk had become, Zora asked, "Are any of these calls a priority right now, FRIDAY?"

" _Secretary Michaels is trying to contact you on the holo-phone, but I think you will want to see the news first, ma'am. The story broke about thirty seconds ago."_

The story? Shit.

"Bring the news up."

FRIDAY quickly opened a webpage on Zora's computer directly to the source: a CNN reporter somberly informing the nation that whatever programs had been interrupted were done so for an important message. _Alien Spacecraft Lands at New Avenger's Facility: Asgardians Seeking Refuge?_

Zora stared open-mouthed as the reporter mentioned several details that only the facility's staff, the Asgardians, and the Secretary of State's staff knew. The reporter ended their emergency broadcast with one question: _Do Americans need to fear for their safety and the integrity of American borders in case of an Asgardian invasion?_

Fuck. Fuckfuckfuck. This could not be happening.

Her phones started ringing again, all at once.

"FRIDAY?"

" _Yes, ma'am? What is your desired course of action?"_

"We have to do damage control. Immediately. And get Thor up here."

000

Arms crossed firmly over his chest, Thor stared gravely at the computer screen that Zora had angled his way as a video of the news report repeated. He had returned to his Asgardian dress – the dark armor sans the runed chainmail covering his arms or the velvet-red cape – and looked every inch the imposing alien king that he was. The very same alien king that the news was reporting on. _Thor: Loyal Avenger or Invading King?_

He muttered something under his breath in a language Zora didn't know. Turning to her, his every movement sharp and surly, he asked, "What are we to do about this?"

"I'm not sure yet," Zora admitted, pacing the length of her office. Her contacts had been discarded an hour ago – definitely not the only source of her current headache, but didn't help – and had been replaced by a pair of dark-rimmed glasses, which she would be more than a little embarrassed to wear around the thunder god if the circumstances were different. "That's why I called you up here. If I were to go on record and say something, it would just seem… dishonest. People will need to hear from you. And soon."

"Much sooner than we intended."

"Yeah. Which is a huge problem. Because if this story got to the press… that means someone leaked it. And the only people who know you're all here are those who live and work on this compound and a select number of people at the White House." Zora pushed her glasses, which had begun to slide down on her nose, back up with a huff. She paused in the middle of her office and glared at the computer screen, which had stilled on the big headline. "As much as the Secretary would love to see me crash and burn, I don't think he'd let this get leaked. It's not just the Avengers that would be held accountable. It's the American government, too. And I promised him that it would stay quiet."

Thor watched as she went back to pacing, eyes sharp, focused. "So you think it was someone here."

"Yes."

He seemed truly baffled. "Why? What would an employee have to gain from this?"

Rubbing at her temples, Zora stopped once more and sighed. "I wondered that, too, for a bit. But then I realized… Loki."

Understanding dawned in Thor's eyes. A frown tightened his lips and his whole body went rigid. "Loki." His hands clenched at his sides, but he remained calm – calmer than Zora. "You mean that someone who's seen Loki here, someone holding a grudge about the invasion, likely gave this information away."

"I think that sounds very possible. Given the circumstances."

Thor pinched the bridge of his nose and cursed to himself at the same time Natasha knocked twice on Zora's door and opened it.

"We have another issue," she informed the pair somberly, fixing Zora with a frown. "The Secretary is here."

000

"You fucked up, Haque, and now we have to deal with the consequences!"

Zora only half-heard this rampage as she tapped out messages on her phone: instructions for Thor, Natasha, and Vision each.

"I told you that if even one of them stepped out of line, there would be ramifications for you. Did I not?"

 _Tap tap tap_. Her head was angled down towards the phone in her hand. It wasn't that she couldn't feel the several pairs of eyes on her – the Secretary of course wanted to shout at her in the central conference room, which enjoyed all glass walls that revealed the corridors around them, as well as the handful of Avengers staring them down just outside, protective and worried – but she was very, very good at ignoring them. Particularly when there was a crisis afoot.

"And I've got the president calling, wondering what my strategy is to handle this. Tell me, if it wasn't my leak, then why am I the one wading through deep shit to fix this mess?"

Messages sent. She had sent two to Nat – one for Natasha herself, another for Thor who didn't yet have a phone.

A fist slammed on the table right beside Zora, on the peripherals of her field of vision. She canted her chin and stared at the Secretary, who was fuming, with a slight raise of her eyebrows. "Is that really necessary?" she asked.

"Are you listening to a single goddamn word I'm saying?"

"Yes," Zora clipped. "And I've decided that someone needs to take your thesaurus away. How many synonyms of 'consequences' are you going to yell at me?"

The Secretary's face flushed red. Whether in anger or embarrassment, she couldn't determine. "As many as it takes for you to take this shitstorm seriously, _Captain_."

"I am taking it seriously." Folding her hands atop each other on the table, Zora tried to affect an air of confidence and calm that she didn't quite feel. "I've just sent instructions for my team to begin handling the problem. So let's define that problem, Mr. Secretary: someone leaked that the Asgardians are here, and now the press has citizens nervous about a possible invasion. This is a major issue, I agree, but it's not as bad as you're painting it. People know who Thor is. They trusted him to save our world twice over. They _know_ him. Once he releases his statement to the press about why the Asgardians are here and what they intend to do, the panic will subside. That shitstorm you're talking about will be downgraded in a day. It'll be handled."

The man scoffed at her, straightening his posture so there was some distance between them again. "That's great news, captain, but in case you didn't notice, you've broken several laws now. And the public knows about it, so there has to be some accountability. Tell me – what would you do, if you were in my position?"

Zora felt a cold smile tug up her lips. "Is this another attempt to get me fired? Seriously? If you want Rogers back, that's fine by me – but you know replacing me isn't going to fix anything."

"I think it'd be a damn good start."

Ugh. And there it was again. Her job once more in jeopardy. How many times was that, this year? Five?

Suddenly, the door to the conference room slammed open hard enough that the door itself, and the glass wall it had connected with, spiderwebbed with cracks. The Secretary, startled, nearly leapt across the room at the sudden intrusion. Zora had to contain a smile. The hairs on her arms raised slightly – she knew who had busted in on this meeting without even looking at him.

"You will cease this useless prattling and leave the compound immediately," Thor demanded, his baritone rumbling over the words with an anger Zora hadn't heard from him before. When she glanced at him, she had to double-take: his eyes glowed, actually _glowed_ , an electric blue, so bright that she couldn't even make out his pupils. His hands, clenched at his sides, sparked with muted, controlled electricity.

Oh. So he _had_ changed. In a bit of a literal sense. Thor, God of Thunder, bereft of his hammer, had an entirely new weapon at his disposal: himself.

The Secretary came to this same conclusion just as quickly, and spluttered nonsense at the god before finding his words. "You can't make demands of me," he informed Thor, but there was a slight tremor in his tone. "You're not an American citizen. You're illegally on this soil and can be _detained_ – "

"So detain me," Thor dared the man. Outside, a thunderclap sounded, directly overhead. "But leave her out of this."

The Secretary stared at Zora accusingly. "This isn't over," he growled out. He slipped past Thor and into the corridor with all the dignity he could muster.

Zora, still awed by the light show she was just given, stared at the god for several long moments. "So," she said, watching as his eyes once more cleared and became the intense blue she knew them to be. "Did you get my message?"

"Aye. And we're ready to release the statement."

"Good."

000

"Uh, Thor?"

The god himself was kingly as ever. Arms encased by the gleaming Asgardian metal he claimed was forged in the heart of a star, cape slung over his shoulders regally, posture confident and reassuring. There was just one problem.

"Yes, Zora?"

She smiled at him. "Can you maybe get the storm to, y'know… stop?"

It had been raging outside since he had burst in on her meeting with the Secretary a half hour ago, but it seemed that no one wanted to tell the thunder god to call it quits. She wasn't entirely sure if he had even realized what was happening or not – they had been busy getting him ready for his statement, after all.

A sheepish grin flashed on his lips as his eyes darted to the window, taking note of the high winds and bolts of lightning. "Ah. Yes." At his confirmation, the storm outside receded into… nothing. It had stilled so quickly that it gave Zora goosebumps. "My apologies."

"Now you remember what you're going to say?" Natasha asked, crossing the room adjacent to the public conference area Tony had set up for situations just like this one. Behind the door across from them was likely a hundred cameras waiting to snap photos of the king… and hopefully show that he was no threat.

Thor nodded. "Of course."

"Good. You're on in five." Nat left, intent on giving orders to a few other employees before they opened that door.

Zora remained at his side. His anger had subsided since earlier, but there was clearly something still bothering him. He stared resolutely at the door, as if through sheer will alone, he could make this entire problem go away.

"Hey," she said, quiet enough that those milling around them wouldn't hear. "I appreciate your help back there. The Secretary… he can be a lot to deal with."

Thor's brow furrowed with unease. "I do not like the way he was speaking to you, Zora. And I will not tolerate anyone who threatens you, mortally or not."

That was… extremely heartwarming. Too heartwarming. Zora turned her gaze to the ground, hoping she wasn't blushing at all. Ugh. "That's very kind of you."

He was giving her a strange look. Before she could ask him about it, though, Nat had called him to the door. It was time to reveal Thor to the world.

000

Zora had watched the press conference from the sidelines. Relief had settled over her like a comforting blanket – cameras loved Thor, of course. They always had and likely always would. And the press obsessed over him like a celebrity. The easy smiles, the words of reassurance, the air of regality. As far as crises went, this one had been dealt with almost entirely with just a few statements and smoldering looks from the God of Thunder. If only all problems could be solved this easily.

Of course, there was still the issue of _who_ had leaked the information, which Natasha was quietly and quickly figuring out, and what to do with them. SHIELD's contracts with employees were clear: any leak of classified information resulted in jail time. A lot of it. On top of that, Zora had to worry about her next interaction with the Secretary. As much as she appreciated Thor busting in at the right time, she didn't hide from her problems and knew it was just a temporary fix. The Secretary would be even angrier next they spoke.

For now, she could put those thoughts aside. Nat would bring in the person responsible for the leak. The Asgardians were safe from public persecution. Things would get wrapped up soon and all this would be in the past.

As she began her nightly paperwork in her office, she tried to tell herself that she'd be happy to see Thor and the others settle in a New Asgard. To have them off the compound and let things get back to normal. She tried very hard to tell herself that, and failed.

* * *

 **A/N** : Ahaha. Now we can get to the good stuff. The really good stuff.


	5. Chapter 5

**Five** :

The Revelation

The following day was unseasonably warm. The weather, combined with the raised spirits of a crisis quickly averted the previous day, gave most of the staff at the New Avengers Facility a bit of a spring in their step. Most.

It was certainly not the case for the SHIELD guard brought into Zora's office at 11 a.m. sharp. He had followed behind Natasha, who bore a stoic expression, with his chin down and his eyes on the floor. His weapon had already been confiscated; now, they needed to deal with the disciplinary action.

Sometimes, Zora really hated her job.

"Mr. Evans. Do you know what the consequences are for leaking classified information?"

For a brief moment, the guard, now seated in front of Zora's desk with Natasha standing imposingly behind him, had the moxie to look offended. His dark eyes darted up to Zora's, noted her glare, and shifted back to his hands once more. "It's like you've all forgotten what happened in New York," he muttered, fidgeting his hands. "I lost a sister because of him, you know."

She didn't have to question who Evans meant. Loki. This man's sister had died in the Battle of New York.

Heaving a sigh, Zora pushed her sympathy away to remain objective. "I didn't know that. You have my condolences, Mr. Evans. But that doesn't negate the crime you committed. Leaking classified information is a serious offense."

Now, he met Zora's gaze with fire in his own. "So is invading a city and slaughtering nearly a thousand people."

Sitting up straighter, Zora clenched her hands and squared her jaw. "We aren't discussing Loki right now. We're discussing how you violated your contract with SHIELD and leaked classified information to the press. Do you understand how serious this is?"

The man gritted his teeth. His mop of dark hair fell over his eyes, darkening his glare. "Yes."

"Good." Zora opened the file on her desk, glanced at the information within it. "You don't get a trial. It's in your contract." She slid the aforementioned contract towards him. "If you'd like to see for yourself. You'll be detained after this meeting and taken to the Internal Affairs Processing Center in California. There, they'll tell you where you're being taken and for how long. Standard protocol."

"This is bullshit," Evans ground out, looking between Zora and Natasha. "You both know this is bullshit."

Nat glared down at the man. "I don't think loyalty and fidelity are bullshit."

He scoffed at her. "You don't think mass murder is, either? You don't think it's utter bullshit to walk around this compound and know this monster is on the loose, able to go wherever he pleases, do whatever he pleases?"

With a barely arched eyebrow, Natasha responded, "I think those are things that don't involve you. I think you had a job to do. I think you betrayed the organization you vowed to protect. Nothing else matters because it isn't up to you or me."

"But it's up to her!" Evans pointed an accusing finger at Zora, who remained perfectly still. She didn't like any of this; she didn't like it one bit. "It's completely up to her. She could have had _him_ detained. She could have done something. But instead, I lose my job and my freedom."

Zora felt torn. Sick. The man wasn't wrong. It _was_ bullshit that Loki got to waltz around without any ramifications for what he did in New York. Of course it was. But he wasn't right, either, because it wasn't up to Zora.

It was up to Thor.

She, however, wasn't going to point this out. No need to shift the focus of this man's anger. Better to have it on her, anyway.

Nodding at Nat, Zora said to the man, "You'll be escorted out now, Mr. Evans. Try not to give the guards any trouble, okay? You'll just make things worse for yourself."

Luckily, Nat saw the knife before Zora did. Just as the man lunged for Zora, blade in hand, the former assassin launched herself at him, disarmed him, and shoved him to the floor. Red hair askew, she glanced up at Zora. "You okay?"

When had she started standing? Startled, Zora merely nodded. Her heartbeat throbbed in her throat. She blinked and stared down at the knife that had clattered to the floor.

The guards were in the room in the next second, slapping cuffs on Evans' wrists and jerking him to his feet before leading him out. Zora stared after him, still somewhat surprised.

"I guess I should've seen that coming," she muttered.

Natasha's eyes burned into the man's back. "I thought I had confiscated all his weapons."

Resting a reassuring hand on Nat's shoulder, Zora shrugged. "Doesn't matter. You were here anyway. So thanks."

The redhead smiled sharply. "Of course, _dorogaya_."

000

Zora had paced in her office for fifteen minutes before she flung the door open in frustration and left in search of one green-eyed, dark-haired god.

She didn't have to look far. As she stepped into the sunlit corridor, she glanced out towards the quinjet pad and spotted him. Loki leaned against the wing of a stationary quinjet, arms crossed casually over his chest, and watched with unguarded curiosity as Parker flung himself around the obstacle simulation course Tony had added just a few months earlier after welcoming the kid to the team.

Zora paused in the corridor and studied Loki, amused at his questioning, confused gaze. If the deep furrow between his dark eyebrows was any indication, Asgard certainly hadn't had anyone who slung webs from their wrists and swung around in the air like an acrobat.

Stepping outside, Zora approached the trickster god slowly, hoping to draw his attention. She did not; he remained steadfastly focused on Parker. Still, when she was just a few feet away, he said, in a bored tone, "Don't tell me. You _also_ would rather I stay inside that dreaded bunker, several hundred feet below ground, and remain out of sight." Turning a brief glare on her, he added, "My brother asked you to request this of me, I assume?"

Zora paused. "So I'm not the first person who thinks that it'd be better if you kept yourself… to yourself?"

"Eloquent," he noted sarcastically. "And no. Thor already asked this of me."

"When?"

Now she'd drawn his curious gaze onto herself. "Why?"

"I hate it when questions are answered with questions."

He arched an unamused brow. "And I hate it when people who are a waste of breath don't get to the point."

A scowl tightened on Zora's lips. Shifting her stance, she crossed her arms over her chest and looked the god up and down. Yes, it _was_ bullshit that Loki got to walk around freely. Not only had he invaded New York all those years ago, but he was such a prick. "What's your problem, exactly? You get to walk around here, free. Without having done any penance for the crimes you've committed. To my people. My realm. So honestly: what's your problem?"

His eyes narrowed on her. He took a menacing step forward, no longer looking like a casual observer but a predator slinking towards its prey.

Zora kept her chin up, her eyes never straying from his.

"You think this is freedom?" He gestured around them, his long fingers elegant. Every movement he made was elegant, vulturine. A rasp of laugher broke from his thin lips. "How amusing. You see, this is where my brother fails to understand you mortals very well. Your eyes fail you – you can't see clearly what is around you. I am not _free_ , captain. I am, as I have always been, slave to Thor's wishes."

Her brows scrunched together. "Meaning?"

A roll of his eyes. Loki sighed and resumed his posture against the quinjet, his gaze once more trailing Parker around the simulation course. "Why don't you ask him?"

Zora's eyes roved over Loki's pale features, so different than Thor's. Of course, everyone knew about the pair not being blood brothers, now. But it seemed that Fate had been cruel to Loki, in some sense. Drawing him up entirely as a foil to the golden-haired, kind-eyed king.

Not that she had a terrible amount of sympathy for the guy.

"I thought you two were getting along again," she fished, uncertain. "Why so much hate all of a sudden?"

The exhale that escaped him was, this time, weary. His shoulders took on tension, hunched slightly. "We are," he allowed, his tone considerably less hostile. "We are." Was he telling her this, or himself? "But there are still issues to be worked out."

"Like what your role will be in New Asgard?"

Sharp green eyes settled on her, evaluating. "Ah. So _that's_ what you came out here to ask."

Zora brushed a few wayward strands of hair behind her ear and nodded. "It's not like you have a big fanbase here. In fact… your name alone might destroy whatever peace treaties he's in there working on."

"I am aware." Surprisingly, he agreed to this with very little bitterness. Just… resignation.

"Okay…" She edged closer to the quinjet, leaned back against it a few feet away from him. "So what will you do? In New Asgard?"

"I don't know," he clipped, clearly dismissing the thought and her all at once. "And I don't care to speculate, at the moment."

Jeez. With a shrug, Zora departed, leaving the grumpy god to himself. She might as well ask Thor, instead.

000

There were several meetings to attend throughout the day – the typical bureaucracy Zora had to deal with whenever the Avengers didn't have a mission. Although she would hardly admit it to anyone, she despised them. Deeply. Even in SHIELD, when she constantly had to write up reports and attend bullshit meetings, it hadn't been this bad.

As she often had to remind herself when times became so glum, she hadn't been the head of an international organization then. The meetings were necessary. She was as much a figurehead as a leader.

"What's my three o'clock, FRIDAY?" Zora asked wearily, sinking back into her comfy leather desk chair, wishing it was her bed.

" _A meeting with the presidents of Harvard, Stanford, and Yale to discuss the Avengers Initiative programs they were hoping to offer."_

Ah. That. That was a topic Zora had been dreading for some time, since she and Tony had already decided it was a terrible idea. Offering programs at Ivy Leagues schools that 'promised' students would eventually get into the Avengers if they only tried hard enough? How about a waste of money just so a school can profit on someone's hopes and dreams?

"Was Rogers going to accompany me on this one?"

" _No, ma'am. The captain and sergeant are… indisposed, at the moment."_

"Wow. Without giving me any information at all, you just gave we way too much information." Still, she couldn't help the slight smile that came to her lips. Rogers, of all people, deserved to be happy. And Bucky certainly made him happy.

 _"Sorry, ma'am_ ," FRIDAY replied with a slight chuckle. " _At least you don't have eyes everywhere."_

"True. Do you really have to witness everyone having sex?"

" _Yes,"_ the AI clipped unhappily, pausing a moment. Then she added, rather pointedly, " _As well as who doesn't."_

"Ouch." Zora frowned at the ceiling. "Not cool. Y'know, you take after Tony too much."

 _"I'll take that as a compliment, ma'am_."

Zora grinned despite herself. She allowed herself a few quiet moments before rising to her feet, already exhausted from a day of meetings. The weather, at least, brought a smile to her lips.

As she approached the assigned conference room for her three o'clock, Zora had to smother a smirk at the sight of the spider-webbed glass that hadn't been replaced yet. Thor had apologized profusely to Tony the night before and had promised to repair the damage, to which Tony had merely laughed and posed the question, _"How?"_ Poor Thor. She'd never seen him look so dumbfounded before.

Passing Natasha in the hallway outside the conference room, Zora paused a moment. The assassin merely nodded at her captain and continued on her way… either oblivious to her tail (extremely unlikely) or simply ignoring him (best educated guess).

Bruce was hiding behind a corner, sad eyes on Nat. As Zora watched the redhead disappear around another bend, she held her arm out as Bruce tried to follow her, effectively stopping the man in his tracks. "Uh, sorry. Are you being creepy right now? Seems like you're being creepy right now."

Bruce gave a long-suffering sigh, his dark eyes still on the area where Nat had disappeared. He seemed half-tempted to shoulder past Zora regardless, but it clearly wasn't in his nature. Or hadn't been. Two years was a long time to be away. "No. I'm just… trying to talk to her."

"By following her around like a stalker?"

The scientist gave Zora an impatient glare. "She won't stop. Not even for a second. I called her name, but she acted like she didn't even hear me."

Zora pondered this. "Maybe she needs more time."

"Maybe. Or maybe she'll never forgive me. I wouldn't really blame her."

"Hey," Zora nudged his shoulder, drawing his gaze again. "Stop that. Just… try to be optimistic, all right? Nat really felt something for you. I doubt it just goes away. When you care about someone that much… it always sticks with you."

"Speaking from experience?"

Ah, she didn't like that tone. Bruce had been spending way too much time around Tony lately. First all the sass from FRIDAY, now Bruce? Ugh. "No."

The scientist's dark eyes focused on something behind Zora's shoulder. Before she could ask what, he frowned and stepped away from her, panicking. "Uh… Captain…"

"What?"

She spun around to see what was amiss… and wound up staring right at Thor's chest.

A perfect chest, really. Well, too bad it was covered in that armor, but those _arms_. Jesus, maybe she had a thing for arms. She always had appreciated Bucky's…

Blinking forcibly, Zora cleared her throat and tipped her chin up. She almost wished she hadn't. Because Thor's eyes were _burning_. Angrily. At her.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Zora glanced to Banner for help, but he was already gone. Smart man. Ruefully looking to Thor once again, she tried not to scratch her head like an idiot. "Sorry… what?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" he repeated, his tone deeper, unhappier. "About this morning?"

Zora struggled to sift through her memories of that morning. What could have happened that would've pissed Thor off? "I didn't realize talking to Loki was that big of an issue?"

Now Thor looked confused. Blue eyes scanned her face quickly. "No. I didn't… I'm speaking of the guard that was responsible for the leaks. You didn't tell me he attempted to take your life." His glare returned. "I had to hear it from Heimdall." Still, his concern seemed to grow tenfold. "Why were you speaking to Loki?"

Okay, this just entered the realm of what-the-fuck. "Uh, which of those questions were you hoping I'd answer first?"

His stare hardened. "The guard," he decided. "Why did you not tell me?"

"There was nothing to tell," she answered simply, hoping that the more succinct she was, the quicker they could wrap this up. She couldn't understand the quiet anger lining his body, his tone. What was he so mad about? "Nothing happened."

"That's not true. He could have killed you."

"But he didn't."

The frown on the fair-haired king's face was so deep she feared it would leave marks. Did he always frown so much, or was it just at her? "But he could have. Yesterday, a man threatens your job. Today, a man threatens your life. Is this truly so pedestrian to you?"

Zora blinked at him. Was the answer not completely obvious? "Yes," she said matter-of-factly. "In case you didn't realize, it's kinda my job to have people try to kill me. I don't recall you taking issue with that when Rogers was captain?"

"Rogers was different."

Now she scoffed. As much as she was loathe to admit it, her patience was growing very thin. Too many meetings. Too much going on. And Thor… gods, Thor. Too much to look at, to feel, to deal with.

"That's a bit sexist, don't you think?"

Now he looked _truly_ confused. "Sexist?" He almost scoffed, but instead a half-sigh, half-groan was pulled from his lips. Rubbing at his forehead wearily, he said, "I think you misunderstand."

"What is it I misunderstand, exactly?" She tried to keep her tone even. She really did. Because there was no reason to fight with Thor or even be unhappy with him, except that he had kinda implied that he was more worried for her safety… since she wasn't a man. _Different culture, Z. Have patience_.

But still, her patience wore too thin.

"I am not saying it was different with Rogers because he is a man. I'm saying – " He stopped abruptly and blinked down at Zora, mouth somewhat open, as if suddenly puzzled, too. As if he didn't quite know what he was saying, either.

Zora watched him struggle with words a few seconds longer before she cut in. "I have a meeting to get to." She nodded at the conference room behind them, containing three university presidents, their assistants, and a multitude of other people all staring at the captain and the king like zoo animals.

The thunder god was unsurprisingly unfazed by their stares. "They can wait."

"No." Zora nudged past him, irritation flaring up again. "They can't."

000

Of course, it was in the middle of that meeting when Zora realized she had intended to talk to Thor, anyway. About what Loki's role would be in New Asgard. About what Loki's presence would mean for the rest of the world.

He would need to face some form of justice. Visible justice. How would the Aesir handle something like that? And Thor… would he have the stomach for it? Especially now that he and Loki had buried the hatchet?

After the meeting concluded, she knew she had to go find the king. Regardless of the tension between them, there were things they couldn't avoid discussing any longer.

Outside the massive quarters Thor was staying in stood Heimdall, obviously Thor's most trusted companion and guard. The golden-eyed gatekeeper offered her the smallest of smiles and tipped his head at her in greeting.

"Captain."

"Heimdall." She worried her lip between her teeth and frowned at his expectant gaze. "I'm guessing you already knew I was on my way here."

The smile grew larger. "Indeed." He stepped aside from the doorway and nodded at the handle. "You may go in."

"Thank you." She didn't really know what else to say. It was more than a little unnerving that the man had anticipated her arrival, but that was his talent, after all. Clasping the handle with as much conviction as she could manage, Zora opened the door, stepped inside, and scanned the room.

Tony certainly had gone all-out for their royal alien guests. The massive living area she'd stepped into branched off into two major hallways, each aligned across from one another. A kitchen large enough for a waitstaff sat on her left, the hallway just next to it. Although everything was done up in a minimal state like the rest of the compound, the furniture was lavish and the décor was unlike anything Zora had spotted before. Reds and golds, silvers and blues. She was almost amused at Tony hemming and hawing over what colors and chairs and flooring would be best for a king… almost.

Then she caught sight of said king.

He was sitting in a staunch wing-back, red in color, angled away from her so that she could easily study his profile. The strong jawline, heavy forehead, and the strange haircut that made Zora wonder if his former long locks had been chopped off rather spontaneously. There was a scar running up his skull, a forty-five-degree angle of healed flesh that stretched about three inches across. Looked like it'd been painful.

At this point, she realized she'd been staring. For far too long. The thunderer's gaze was already on her when she refocused her attention, sapphire blue eyes piercing her.

Zora shifted on her feet, uncomfortable.

"Captain," he greeted, using her title once again, something she was beginning to notice was a pattern if he was unhappy with her. "Is there trouble?"

"Your majesty," she threw right back, brow arched. "No, no trouble at all. We need to talk, though."

Thor smiled wanly to himself. He chuckled, then picked up a glass she hadn't noticed beside him, filled nearly to the brim with an amber liquid. Asgardian liquor or Midgardian? she wondered. He took a hearty sip and sighed. "Many womenfolk have said exactly the same thing to me before giving me unpleasant news." Wary eyes returned to her, and he gestured towards a chair across from him. "You should at least sit for it."

Zora hesitated.

"Please," he added, and it seemed so incongruous, so unlike him, to say please for anything. To sound so soft and even a little bit vulnerable. Zora did as he asked.

She folded her hands atop her knees and thought about the best way to broach the subject. "We need to talk about Loki."

Thor's brow furrowed deeply. Twice in one day he looked at her with such terrible concern. "Why?" He searched Zora's eyes and sat up straighter, one of his hands tightening around the armrest until the wood creaked in strain. "Has he done something?"

"No, he hasn't done anything wrong. We just… need to talk about his future. Or whatever future you intend for him to have."

A light sparked in the king's eyes, quickly snuffed out, saddened. Something was clearly weighing heavily on the god's mind, today. She almost wished she'd waited to talk to him about this. Did she ask what was wrong? Probably just business with the Norwegians not going as planned.

"I see." He rubbed at his chin, and for one completely insane second, Zora stared at his massive, sinewy hands, at his jaw, and wondered what it'd be like to run her hands along the scruff.

 _Not the fucking time_.

"Yeah…" She cleared her throat. Thor had caught her staring yet again, but his look was unreadable now. Heart lurching in her chest, she quickly added, "That's why I went to speak with him earlier. I was hoping he could provide some insight, but, ah, he wasn't very happy about my inquiry."

Thor let out a dark chuckle. "No, I suppose he wouldn't be. Loki was not eager to travel to Midgard. He knows that the crimes he's committed here have not been forgotten."

"Then I guess we're all on the same page… for the most part." Ah, fuck. She was losing some of that conviction she entered the room with. Because Thor looked so godsdamned _gloomy_. She didn't want to tell him they'd probably have to lock his brother up, not right now.

"Thor… what's wrong, exactly? Something with the Norwegians? I could probably arrange for an American to help with your negotiations, an expert. The Secretary's eager to get you guys out of here anyway." Zora cringed, realized that sounded bad. "Not that I am. I mean, not that _we_ are. The Avengers." Wow, was she actually rambling? And was he really giving her such a… fucking seductive look? Is that what that was? Sapphire blue eyes had darkened into something stormier, more elemental. It made her stomach do somersaults. "The Avengers and I," she scrambled to continue and justify. "You and your people are welcome to stay as long as needed…"

"Zora," he cut in, stopping her word vomit before it got _truly_ bad. "Are _you_ well?"

The pair stared at one another, silent. Then Zora said, "I asked you first. On Midgard, that means I have conversational superiority and you have to answer."

A blond brow arched at her clearly childish rule, but he smiled softly and indulged her anyway. "I did not like how our conversation ended earlier," he admitted. Zora's heart pittered, then pattered, maybe stopped. _That's_ what had him all sad-eyed and glum? Really? "And I do not like that you didn't tell me about the guard who tried to harm you."

Zora bobbed her knee up and down. "That's still bothering you?"

His blue eyes shot to her, sharp but not hostile, not angry anymore. "Aye. We are causing you much trouble, being here."

"Not more than I'm used to. And not more than I can handle."

He rubbed at his jaw again, such a fucking distraction, and looked absently out the window beside his chair. "I suppose that's what I find worrisome."

Ugh. They were going to have a repeat conversation. Great.

"And before you interject… No. I am not worried because you're a woman, because I think you cannot handle the duties of your job the same as Rogers did."

Zora leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest, disbelieving. "Really? 'Cause it sure as hell sounds like it." That came out too harsh. She sighed and gave an apologetic half-smile. "Sorry."

Thor slouched back into his chair, tired. She'd never seem him look so… well, almost human. He would never look truly human to her. There was that taste in the air, like burnt ozone, a cologne that was naturally _him_ , and there was that otherly beauty, ethereal, that perfection that humans could never quite mimic. But right now, he looked as human as she'd ever seen him.

"If harm would have come to you today because of my presence in this compound and the help you've generously extended to my people… I could never forgive myself for that." His admission was quiet, his low baritone rough. Blue eyes the color of a tempest continued to stare out the window.

Ah. So it was a feeling of responsibility, then. "You shouldn't worry about it so much. I'm tough. I've got it handled."

Another thin smile. "I believe you. Still, it does not cause me any less distress."

Suddenly, in a movement almost too quick for her eye to follow, Thor had angled himself towards her and taken her hand. Zora had to force herself still in order to keep from jerking away in surprise. He stared at her a moment, as if asking permission to touch her, before turning her hand palm-up, cupping it, his warm and calloused and _strong_ , before bringing his other hand up to run fingers over her skin.

"Zora, there is something I must tell you." He rubbed his thumb over the center of her palm and Zora had to remind herself to fucking _breathe_. He could have told her right then and there that he was planning to launch a full-scale invasion of Midgard and she wouldn't have heard a damn word he said because she was so focused on his soft expression, on his warm skin against hers, so much warmer than hers, on the butterflies racing so quickly through her stomach that she felt like she'd been tipped upside down and shaken up.

Very gently, he squeezed her hand, forcing her eyes to meet his. He was hardly a foot away – their breaths mingling – and she could see the weariness and something else, something that looked a little bit like hope, lining his features. Something more, too – he was nervous. Thor, a god, a king of gods, was _nervous_.

So she was nervous, too.

In that soft tone that set her blood on fire, he asked, "Do you remember our battle with Ultron?"

Did she remember? How could she forget? Tony's pet project that had become bent on world domination… not something that would stray from her memory. And more than that. It was the first time she'd fought side-by-side with all the Avengers. "Of course," she managed to find her voice, half-distracted by the circles his thumb was tracing. "It was one of the longest days of my life." They had lost one of their own, that day. Pietro.

Thor nodded, but his thoughts seemed far off. "It was our first meeting, you and I. I remember being impressed by your mettle. You fight better than a dozen men and women combined. And you have such… heart." He looked at her, intense, and she stopped breathing until her lungs burned. "I was at a complete loss for what to think of you, then."

Her chest and neck flushed a bright pink under his praise and her face felt hot, too hot. She gripped his hand tighter if only to ground herself, to force the blush away, and tried a shrug. "I've had a lot of training."

His expression turned curious. "Perhaps you could tell me about it, some day."

Her heart fluttered, but not because of the handsome god or her possible feelings for him or because he was outright touching her. Because he was asking, yet again, for her to share part of herself with him that she hardly shared with anyone. She kept her past on a tight leash and rarely acknowledged it to anyone who wasn't already privy to her strange life. The other Avengers… they had accepted this, on some level. That she had been a highly ranked agent in SHIELD was enough for them. But Thor kept poking and prodding, and if she were being honest with herself, she was getting nervous.

"Perhaps," she merely said, keeping her eyes focused on their joined hands, such a curious sight in itself.

Thor's frown could be felt. She didn't have to look up to know it was there. "You were not so reserved when we fought side by side, Lady Zora." That 'Lady' part was new. She wondered if it was a slip of the tongue. "What has changed?"

What has changed? What hasn't?

Moreover – she never expected to see this man again, to feel that spark once more, that thing that drew her to him in a very dangerous way. Zora didn't entangle herself romantically – not anymore. It was one of the most dangerous things she knew. Love could crush. It could kill. She had learned that, during Thor's time away.

"Everything," she told him, her tone quiet but her eyes intent, hoping he would understand. Whatever friendship he sought from her or whatever this was, it couldn't be achieved like this. She needed to have her walls up higher than Nat's. She needed to be guarded.

Thor pulled away from her. The air-conditioned room suddenly felt too cold. As he settled back in his chair, he did that thing where he crossed his arms over his chest and his biceps bulged. Ughh. His stare was grave. "My presence makes you uncomfortable," he finally noted, distressed.

Well, fuck. Like she'd already figured, life had to be tough for him right now. His lifelong friends, all dead sans Sif and Loki. His parents gone. His realm destroyed. His people looking to him to lead. And here she was, being a complete ass and rejecting his attempts at friendship at every turn, just because, yes, she was a little uncomfortable.

"I… no," she stuttered, eloquent as ever. "No." It was a lie. "Your presence doesn't make me uncomfortable." A huge lie. "I guess I just… I'm not good at this whole friendship thing, y'know?"

His gaze flashed with something she couldn't get a good read on. Hurt? Confusion? "This friendship thing?" he asked, somewhat hollowly.

There she went, saying the wrong thing as usual. "Yeah. Just… friendship, I mean. I'm no good at it. I think that's why Nat and I get along so well. We're both friendship freaks."

Thor stared at her, hard, as if he were trying to pull secrets from her head through his gaze alone. Finally, in a strange tone, he informed her, "I am not looking for friendship from you, Lady Zora. I…" And he grew shy, yet again. Nervous. But just as quickly, continued on, with wavering confidence. "I thought I was making it quite clear. I am hoping to court you."

Zora went stiff. Completely stiff.

"I…"

Court her? As in… date her?

Thor wanted to do that? With her?

It took several long minutes for her to process his words properly. To come to the conclusion that she had, in fact, heard him correctly. He had just said he wanted to fucking court her.

"Thor, I… don't understand."

When had she stood? She was looking down at him now, feeling panic brew inside her chest, hot like molten lava, spreading through her body. Panic at the hurt in his gaze. Panic at the thought that the others had all been right – there was something here, between her and Thor, something _real_ , and that was absolutely terrifying.

Zora hadn't done 'real' in a very, very long time. And the last time… Fuck.

She didn't even realize she was backing away from him, confused and uncertain, until he was also standing, wavering between staying where he was and intercepting her. But he did not move. "I see, now, that I should have gauged your feelings towards me better, Captain." Back to that title? A jumble of words flitted through her head. _I was hoping to court you. Choose wisely. Choosewiselychoosewisely._

She couldn't make sense of anything.

"Thor, I – " I, what? she wondered. "Can we… can we talk about this another time? Soon. I just…"

Her heart was thudding, _hard_. It almost ached. Those blue eyes. So sad. Confused. But so was she.

Darting out of the room, ignoring Heimdall's concerned voice as she passed him, Zora quickly walked down the corridor, towards no set destination. She just needed somewhere to think.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Firstly, I am so sorry about how long it as taken to get this posted! Real Life has been absolutely chaotic for me! Luckily I'm taking a bit of a break and getting back on the writing bend. More updates to come, I do hope!

* * *

Six:

The Captain

Zora lay flat on her bed, arms stretched out on either side of her, blank stare more or less fixed on the ceiling.

 _I was hoping to court you._

 _Choose wisely._

 _I see, now, that I should've gauged your feelings towards me better, Captain._

 _Thor's heart would've taken him elsewhere_.

Like a bad movie montage, snippets of conversation replayed in Zora's head, unbidden and frustrating. How could she have been so blind? So completely stupid? Barnes had suggested it, and then Nat. Loki had all but told her explicitly.

Thor… wanted to court her. _Her_. That longing she felt for him, which she had suppressed again and again, wasn't one-sided.

Fuck.

How could she be so stupid? So utterly blind? And how could she have gotten herself in such a messy, horrible, sticky situation?

The door to Zora's quarters opened almost silently, breaking up her pity party momentarily. She didn't hear any footsteps, so she knew who it was.

"Go away."

Natasha suddenly appeared over her, catlike green eyes blinking down at Zora, her red hair framing her face. "No."

"That's an order, Natasha. I'm serious."

The assassin's gaze narrowed. "No."

Sighing, Zora found she couldn't even muster the strength to glare at her best friend. It was useless, anyway. Nat was impervious to her death glares.

"How'd you find out?"

The smile the redhead afforded Zora was equal parts proud and wane. "It's what I do."

Great. So, somehow, Nat knew a little something of what happened. "How much do you know?"

"Not much," her friend admitted, sinking onto the bed beside Zora and mimicking the captain's pose. It would have been comical in any other circumstance – the infamous Black Widow, sprawled out like an angsty teenage girl. "Just that something… _significant_ occurred between you and a certain alien king."

"Significant." Zora laughed at the word, but it was humorless. Shouldn't she feel happier right now? Like that time in seventh grade when she had found out her crush liked her back? Shouldn't she feel anything but scared? "That's one way to put it, I guess. Who are your sources?"

"You know I never give up my sources," Nat admonished. "But," she relented lightly, "I may have checked with Heimdall."

"He's literally all-seeing, so I can't blame the guy."

"True. He'd be a perfect spy."

"He _is_ a perfect spy," Zora quipped, turning her head slightly to give her friend a thin smile. "He's _your_ spy, now, isn't he?"

Nat's lips were upturned in the ghost of a smirk. "I have no idea what you're talking about. And you're deflecting." The Avenger turned her head, too, her loose red curls looking frenzied now. "Tell me what happened."

Well, why put it off any longer?

"What happened is that I'm an idiot. I'm an idiot in charge of a group of superheroes, which means I'm a dangerous idiot. I should resign."

Alarm crossed the redhead's face. "You're serious," she detected. Silent for several more beats, the assassin pondered this, her alarm growing. "Why? Why should you resign?"

 _Out with it, Z._ Pinching her eyes shut, she admitted, "He… said he was hoping to court me."

Dead silence.

Dead silence for waaaay too long.

Peeking one eye open, she found Nat staring blankly at her, an eyebrow arched. "So? I thought you would be happy."

What?

"You knew? Well, I know you _knew_ , but you do know what courting means, right? Like, in his culture? _Courting_?"

A roll of her eyes. "Yes," Nat said calmly. "I do. And yes, I knew that was his intention. Thor has learned subtly, true, but not as well as Loki, and certainly not as well as me."

Sitting up on her elbows, feeling more frustrated than she had in a long fucking time, Zora tossed her head back and groaned. "Why didn't you warn me?"

"Because I thought you'd be happier." The bed shifted as Natasha sat upright, crossing her legs neatly under herself.

Cradling her head in her hands, Zora couldn't help but agree. She _should_ be happier. Well, part of her was, right? Thor, God of Thunder, King of Gods, had some sort of feelings for her? Or wait – did he? Was it just a political thing? Loki had mentioned his heart… But Loki couldn't really be trusted. Strategically, it would make sense to court the captain of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. In a way. So maybe he didn't have any feelings at all, maybe –

"Stop thinking," Natasha said, swiping her elbow into Zora's rib. Zora suspected the assassin meant to be gentle, but fuck, that would bruise. "You're overthinking this. So he wants to court you – and you like him, don't you?"

That was the million-dollar question, wasn't it? "Well… I have _eyes_. And he's a god. With lots of muscles. And he's a literal ray of sunshine. And he's… he's _Thor_. Of course I like him. He's…" Incredible? Tough? Sensitive? Kind? Perfect, was more like it.

"And he just declared his intentions to court you," Natasha recounted, as if Zora even needed reminding. Gods, was she in an episode of Downton Abbey, now? Who even said that? _Declared his intentions to court you_? Were they in 18th century England? "So, what's the problem? And why do you need to resign because of this?"

Zora needed to pace. Yes, she needed to move. Rolling off the bed, Zora landed on her feet and began to crisscross the room – left, right, left, stop at the window, walk towards the bed. She ran her hands through her hair and tugged on the ends, gritting her teeth.

How could Natasha not see the problem?

"Because he's a king," Zora finally said, stopping in the center of her room and daring to meet the assassin's steely gaze. "And I'm the captain of this team. He has responsibilities… and so do I. I can't afford to be distracted by whatever Asgardian 'courting' means, or by romance, or love, or any of that bullshit. Not again."

A sad smile of realization appeared on Nat's face. "Ah. So _that's_ the problem. You're thinking about what happened with Nathaniel."

Even the name spoken aloud tore at Zora's heart. She never said that name. And if she could help it, she never thought of it either. It belonged firmly in her past. "My absentmindedness got him killed," she tried to say as clinically as possible, but tears threatened to form in her eyes. Clearing her throat, she steadied herself, continued. "And I won't let anyone on this team get hurt because I'm some lovestruck idiot."

"Firstly, you didn't get Nathaniel killed." And the look Nat was giving Zora begged the other woman not to argue. Zora bit her tongue, _hard_. "Nobody could've known that would happen."

"An entire facility blew up, Nat. Which means that explosives had to have been planted. Which means that _someone_ knew it was gonna happen. Just not me."

Unfolding her lithe figure, Natasha stood and crossed her arms. "Fine. Someone knew. But you couldn't have known, and that's what matters. _Secondly_ – our safety doesn't rest in your hands. Even as our captain, we don't give that to you, not entirely, and you know that. It's too much of a burden. For anyone."

"I lead operations. I make decisions on the fly. I'm at least partly responsible – "

"Yes, _partly_. But we all choose to be on this team. We chose you when Steve stepped down. If one of us thought you were making a bad call, or that your head wasn't in the game, don't you think we'd tell you?"

Ugh. Fair. Sam would certainly sit her down and talk it out with her, like he'd done for Steve near the end of his gambit.

Giving Zora a significant look, Nat crossed towards the door, ready to leave. "Look, I'm not saying you need to go running to him, arms wide open, right now. I'm just saying… you should be happier. And there's nothing wrong with being happy." Regret briefly pooled in Nat's eyes. "Trust me when I say that. You can't put aside your happiness for everything. Not every time."

And then the ex-spy slipped out the room in the exact same manner she had come in – silently, as if she'd never even been there to begin with, leaving Zora with more thoughts to sift through.

000

She had only allowed herself one night to lay strewn across her bed in a heart-torn mess of feelings, insecurities, and fear before she threw herself back into work. Work was Zora's best friend. Work never failed her. There was always so much of it to be done, and for her particular job… it was an amazing distraction.

" _You're in early, ma'am_ ," FRIDAY noted as Zora gently set her near-brimming coffee mug down on her desk and sunk into her chair with a sigh. " _Your first meeting isn't until eleven this morning."_

Zora chanced a look at the clock at the bottom right of her computer. 4:35 AM. Disgusting.

"I have some paperwork to catch up on," Zora half-lied, taking a hearty sip of the coffee and groaning in delight as it pleasantly filled her stomach.

There was a pause as Zora began sifting through emails on the computer.

" _Paperwork,"_ FRIDAY inquired in that sly, Tony-like way of hers, " _or are you hiding yourself away again, ma'am?"_

Zora glared at the ceiling. "I'm glaring at you, in case you couldn't tell."

There was a smile in the AI's tone. " _I can tell."_

"Good."

" _I will leave you to your… paperwork."_ Ugh! How the AI could communicate so complexly and _infuriatingly_ through her speech alone was truly a menace, sometimes. " _Though I feel I must warn you… Prince Loki seems quite intent on meeting with you today."_

Loki? Great. Another problem, to be sure.

"Awesome. Just awesome. Give me a heads up before his royal pain in the ass decides to show up here?"

" _Yes, ma'am._ "

000

At exactly 10:15 AM, Loki suddenly appeared in Zora's office. Fortunately for the captain, she at least had some warning, due to FRIDAY's omnipresent protocols. Still, it was unnerving to watch the tall, raven-haired god simply materialize in the chair across from her, legs crossed regally, as if he'd been there all along.

She barely spared him a glance as she finished yet another report, hoping to relay a sense of _I'm-very-uninterested-in-what-you-have-to-say-right-now_. "Something I can do for you?"

Ah, but she could feel the glare. Loki, God of Glares. Seemed fitting, these days. "Is that any way to talk to your superior?"

"I take it you still haven't come to terms with the fact that we lowly mortals don't care much for your alleged superiority?"

The demi-god sighed deeply, as if he was drawing on a well – a very shallow well – of patience. Finally looking at him, she watched as he crossed his arms over his armored chest and tried for a less icy look. "We need to talk."

"The last time you said something like that, you ended up telling me the fate of New Asgard rests on my shoulders, and you know what? I don't sleep that well anymore. So, no thanks."

"If your one hope in life is to sleep like an infant in a warm crib, I'm afraid you've taken up the wrong occupation, Captain."

Loki, God of Sass. Worse than the glaring, Zora decided.

Signing off on yet another document, Zora reached for her mug, realized it was already empty, and felt an immense weariness settle over her. Eyeing Loki over the brim of her thick black glasses, she reluctantly asked, "What is it?"

"Thor."

Zora waited. Probably twenty seconds passed and all she received from Loki was a haughty, arched-brow look that seem equal parts accusatory and irritated.

"Look," she said, settling her elbows on the desk. "You're gonna have to give me more than a one-word answer. Not much I can go on with just ' _Thor'_."

Fuck, even saying the god's name was hard at this point. Wound her stomach up into tight knots.

Loki rolled his eyes. "Is that so? Did I not just hear your heart speed up at the very mention of him?" Shit, they could hear heartbeats? Why hadn't Thor ever mentioned that? Motherfucker. "You look nervous, Captain. Perhaps there's something _you_ wish to discuss."

"Nope." She popped the 'p' as loudly and obnoxiously as she could. There was no way in hell she had the patience for this, right now. Getting almost no sleep, being out of coffee, and generally being exhausted from the paperwork she'd been using as a very effective distraction… no. She did _not_ want to talk to the God of Mischief and Lies. Especially not about his very handsome, very perfect brother.

The prince clucked his tongue at her, amusement burning bright in his ethereally green eyes. "Fine. Then I shall. Thor is _moping_. Which means our king, who very much needs every working brain cell he has to be focused on securing land for our people, is distracted. Heartbroken, even." Loki splayed his hands out. "How shall we fix this?"

She could pretend for a while longer that, "I don't know, because I don't have anything to do with that."

The look the demi-god fixed her with was worse than condescending. "Playing stupid doesn't work well for you. And playing with my brother's heart works even less. _Fix it_."

Fix it? Seriously? Zora dropped the pen she'd been fidgeting with and stared open-mouthed at the prince. "Excuse me? What the hell do you think I can do? And who the hell do you think you are to come in here and make demands?"

"I'm Thor's most trusted advisor," Loki said in a clipped tone, canting his chin up just enough to be a prick. "I am his brother. And I am his prince. For the sake of my people, yes, I shall come in here and make demands. Especially when both you, Captain Haque, and my brother are being absolute fools. I know he finally confessed his intentions towards you, and I know you ran away with your tail between your legs like a coward."

Zora's teeth were gritted together so hard they ached. "You presume to know a lot."

The smile Loki gave her was sharp. "That's because I do know a lot, darling. And I know this – you are being obstinate. I already warned you that the fate of New Asgard rests in your hands as much as my brother's. Did you not understand what I was telling you?"

Fuck. _Choose wisely_ he had said. She would never forget. Choose wisely… but choose what wisely?

"Maybe you could be a bit clearer about it," she offered, a little bite in her voice.

Loki, for once, looked irritated with himself. He pressed his thin lips together into a white line and gave a curt shake of his head. "That's not how this works. I've already interfered as much as I dare. I chance it now because we're in the thick of negotiations. If things go well, we could have land secured by the end of the week."

The end of the week? That soon? Shit. Shit shit shit. Zora tried very hard to tell herself she wasn't nervous at that thought – she welcomed it, right? It would kill two birds with one stone. Three, actually. The Asgardians would have a place to live, the Secretary would get off her ass, and she could put some much-needed distance between herself and the alien king.

Right?

"Ah. I see that my brother failed to mention that to you," Loki added as soon as he caught the expression on Zora's face. He even managed to look just the tiniest bit contrite. "So you see my problem."

"No," she managed. "Still not seeing how this is your problem at all."

A long-suffering sigh pulled from the demi-god's lungs. "Fine. Then consider it like this, Lady Haque. Thor is my brother. And to be a good brother… I must look out for his interests, must I not? His heart took him to Midgard against my advice. His heart still pulls him towards you."

"Against your advice?"

Loki actually smiled at her _sympathetically_. Oh, gods. How had she gotten to this point? "No, actually. But that's another matter entirely. The point is – you need to fix this, captain. And only you can do that. So do it."

And then he was gone, the chair once again absent a near-immortal pain in the ass, with Zora staring at it like it might hold all the answers in the universe.

000

"Get up, bicch," Clint said as he stepped into Zora's office and noted her lying prone on the stiff couch near the window, files in hand. "We're having dinner."

Zora barely spared the assassin a glance. "Y'know, I thought you retired."

"Oh, I did. But then Laura said the kids were too young to learn how to pierce someone's heart from 300 meters away with a bow and arrow and that knives were out of the question _and_ that I couldn't name any more chickens after you guys, since it was so hard to kill Steve that last time. So now I'm un-retired."

"And does Laura approve?"

"Wholeheartedly."

Zora made a humming sound in her throat. She still didn't glance up, but honestly, staring at all this paperwork was starting to give her a terrible headache. And at the mention of dinner… her stomach growled. Loudly.

Clint cocked a hip. "Get up."

"I'll have someone bring me a plate. Lots of work to do."

The assassin crossed his arms over his chest. She could feel his glare. "No. Nat said you would say that, and that if I needed backup, I just had to call. So you can either join your friends for dinner of your own volition or be dragged to the dining room by two supersoldiers." Then he gave her a smirk. "Your choice."

A frown tugged on the captain's lips. Ah, so he meant _dinner_ dinner. As in, dinner with everyone, dinner.

Did that include a certain Asgardian king with certain intentions towards her? Who she had been avoiding for a solid twenty-four hours, now?

Her heart flipped inside her chest.

"Like I said, I'll have a plate brought up."

Clint sighed. "Barnes," he called out, and not a second later, the metal-armed soldier appeared in the doorway, a determined set to his brow.

Zora sat upright immediately, on edge. Steve was right behind his boyfriend and the pair looked all too happy to carry out Clint's threat and drag her to the dining room.

"Uh, excuse me," she said, eyeing the three like the crazed friends they had turned into. "Remind me – who's the boss here?"

Steve chirped up happily. "Technically I was the boss first, so I'm going to pull seniority."

"And that's double seniority since he's literally a senior citizen," Clint added.

"A beautifully aged senior citizen," Bucky defended with a slight eye roll.

It was like the three stooges had arrived. And she was suffering for it. But going to dinner, this collective dinner with everyone, meant she was 99 percent likely to see Thor. And seeing Thor meant that she had to deal with her feelings and his feelings and what he had said to her and how she had run away…

She would really rather carve her own eyes out with a spoon.

"Friends don't pressure friends into awkward dinners," was her last attempt to get them to leave, and even she knew it was weak.

Clint grinned. "But really good friends do."

000

Zora sat stiffly in her chair, hands on her lap, every single muscle vibrating with tension. The others chatted amongst themselves like they didn't notice, but they had. It was all in the askance looks, the brief flickers of worry, the attempts to draw her into conversation. But Zora hadn't even touched the appetizer on her plate because she was painfully aware of the empty seat right across from her. She had the worst feeling that it wouldn't remain empty for long.

Everyone else was accounted for. Wanda and Vis down at the other end of the long table, probably playing footsies while they chatted, making bedroom eyes at one another. Tony, who was gesturing animatedly to Peter about some science thing while Pepper looked at the pair with a softness in her gaze. Rhodey in one argument or another with Sam over the newest fighter jet the US military unveiled. Steve and Bucky making bets with Doctor Banner about which of them could heal faster, with Bucky being characteristically, and weirdly, competitive about the whole ordeal. Then there was Nat and Clint – Nat on Zora's right hand side with Clint beside her. Both assassins were eerily quiet, having a conversation through their eyes alone. A conversation that was clearly about Zora.

The glass door to the Avenger's dining area opened and in walked the very man she hadn't want to see. As soon as the Asgardian king stepped inside, all went silent. She tried, she really did, to not look at him. But her chin lifted of its own volition and she found herself pierced all over again by those penetrating deep blue eyes, already focused intently on her.

He paused on his way to his seat. Zora wasn't the only one holding her breath – Nat was even stiller than usual beside her. For a moment, the Captain thought Thor would simply turn about and leave, and she wouldn't blame him in the slightest. Part of her hoped he did. Prayed he did. Those too-blue eyes were several different shades of hurt and confused and worse, _resigned_ , and one of the idiots surrounding Zora had thought it'd be a brilliant idea to seat him right in front of her.

But Thor was strong and decent and kind – he was never one to be petty, and he certainly wasn't one to walk away from a tough situation. His jaw tightened, but he continued on his path, offered small smiles to everyone in the room, and took his seat. A king in every right.

Zora's chest felt like it would either collapse or implode. She suddenly found the fabric of the table cloth remarkably interesting and stared holes into it, willing the dinner to be over and done with. The appetite she'd had earlier had vanished not long after she'd taken her seat. There was really no reason to be here.

"Captain," Thor said to her kindly, and fuck, her heart clenched hard in her chest. "You look… well. How do you fare?"

 _Shitshitshit_. So were they pretending nothing had ever happened? Was he just trying to be nice and diffuse the suffocating awkwardness in the room? Was he literally just being Thor and saw no other option or reason than to simply be nice? Probably the last. He was perfect like that.

When she said nothing, Nat kicked her under the table. Shooting the assassin a glare, Zora cleared her throat and managed to briefly glance up at the god. Norns, he was beautiful. And she'd walked away from that. _How_ had she walked away from that?

Ah, right. In order to focus on her job. And how was that working out for her, now?

"I'm, um, well. Thank you." Another kick from Nat. Zora was close, so close, to elbowing her friend in the ribs. She coughed a little to hide her jolt and the lull in conversation, tried to look up at him again. "And you?"

The table had gone silent again. All eyes were on them. Which was great, just great, because apparently absolutely everyone at the facility knew about her and Thor now. Not that there _was_ a her and Thor. They knew about the lack of her and Thor.

The smile he offered her in return was strained. "I'm… managing."

Gods, she couldn't do this. She couldn't. Fight aliens and monsters and ninjas in the dark? Sure. That was fine. But this?

Zora was standing before she even realized it. Panicking, like that one time in seventh grade when she'd had to get up in front of all her classmates and give a speech and she'd had no idea what to say or what to do or how to look. All eyes were on her and she couldn't look at a single person. Letting her body take charge, she fled. Out the doors, down the hallway, towards the communal living room…

"Zora, _wait_."

Thor. Of course he'd get up and follow her. Of course he wouldn't even hesitate.

Zora was suddenly frozen in place, like his command had been something she had no choice but to follow. But that wasn't true, was it?

"Zora, please…" Closer now. He stepped in front of her, in her field of vision, and in the same way she hadn't been able to look at him just moments before, she now couldn't stop looking at him. Such honesty in that face. So much kindness and understanding. "I see I've caused you distress, and I would like to apologize. It was never my intention…"

"I need to know," she cut him off, startling the god as his blue eyes locked on hers intently. It was entrancing, and she nearly forgot what she had been trying to say. Clearing her throat, she started again. "I need to know. What you said last night…" She couldn't say the words. She just couldn't. It sounded too ridiculous, and it made her heart clench up so much that she wondered if maybe Dr. Cho should take a look at her. "Is this just for some political gain? I would understand, of course. I mean, we come from different cultures, and you were raised to be a king, and it would make sense if you felt you needed better footing here on Midgard with all that's going on – "

"No," Thor answered resolutely, staring at her with such determination that she knew he was telling the truth. "It's a matter of the heart, Captain Haque. Politics has no influence."

Fuck.

She wasn't the only one uncertain about what to do. Thor even shifted on his feet, rubbed at the back of his head. It was adorable and at the same time, painful. Because if she could just let herself be happy about this, like Nat had said… she wouldn't be putting them both through all these flaming hoops.

"Is that… something you were worried about?" he finally asked, doubt lining his tone. Seeing the God of Thunder of all people bite his lip like that… It shouldn't be legal.

Ugh.

Zora had to force her eyes back to his. Stay focused. "Um… One thing, yeah." There, that was the truth. Was that so hard?

He clasped his hands in front of himself like he wasn't sure what else to do with them. "And the others?"

Glancing at her feet, she wasn't sure what to say next. Numerous reasons why she had fled the night before whipped around her head. Staying focused on work. Not getting distracted. Not getting anyone killed. The fact that she was mortal, not Asgardian. The ramifications of what 'courting' meant. Was he looking for a queen? A concubine? She didn't want to leave her job… It was her _life_. And more than all that… Starting with courting – it wasn't exactly natural. People needed to get to know one another first, and while she was definitely harboring intense feelings for Thor, she wasn't certain if it could bloom into something else. She just didn't know him well enough.

"There are just… there are a lot of things I'm not sure about right now, Thor. I need time. To sift through my thoughts."

The smile he gave her was strained. Once again, she felt like a horrible person for making Thor, God of Sunshine and Happiness, so stressed. "Of course, Captain. I understand."

This time, when she left, he didn't follow.

* * *

 **A/N** : I just wanted to address the Thing. The Thing being that Zora isn't Happy and Automatically Jumping into the Beautiful God-King's Bed. Boy, would I love for her to do the thing [because I have so much I'm going to write for that], but she's super career-orientated, and we also learned a liiiiittle bit more about her past and why she's so hesitant in this chapter. Hopefully this addresses the Thing. And I promise – things are about to move a bit faster.

Next up… Jane Foster!


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N** : *Rubs hands together* Hello lovely people! Finally, Jane has arrived! I'm really glad too, because I'm all for Badass Women, and sometimes I feel like Jane is super underappreciated in that department. She doesn't fight like the Black Widow, true, but her weapon is that big, beautiful brain of hers!

Also, in case you were wondering where we are 'at' in the story… I'm finally able to start getting into the major plot points I have [loosely] planned out. Things are about to get very interesting. More Thor/Zora interaction, incoming Jane/Loki interaction, and of course Jane/Zora. Lots coming up! Let's start playing with Murphy's Law, shall we?

* * *

Seven:

The Scientist

Jane Foster had been to the New Avengers Facility once before. A year ago, after the whole Civil War fiasco (which Darcy never failed to insist was just some amped up family drama played out at an airport – nothing more and nothing less), Tony Stark had tried luring her to work for him – or SHIELD? Was SHIELD still a thing? – by showing off all the amazing, beautiful, incredible toys he had in the building dedicated to Research and Development.

He had also shown her one lab in particular. One lab she thought about all too often, especially now that her funding had been cut by the university (yet again) and she had found out that the Asgardians were actually now on earth. A lab bearing her name on its frosted glass doors, holding every piece of equipment she could ever dream of.

So as Darcy had put it, Jane was keeping an "open mind". Because maybe, just maybe… The Asgardians would want a new Bifrost. And maybe… just maybe… they would help her finally finish the project of her dreams. The Einstein-Rosen Bridge.

The Einstein-Rosen-Foster Bridge. A mouthful, true, but she could allow herself the pride of adding her name to that impressive list… Just this once.

Still, there were other things to consider. Thor being one of them, of course. While she and the Thunder God had parted on good terms – with Jane citing that she couldn't keep waiting on a man who only ever returned in times of crisis and Thor wholeheartedly agreeing with her in that lovely, kind way of his – there was still some leftover uncertainty. How was she supposed to greet him? Like friends? Were they even friends, now? More like strangers, these days.

"Ooh, shiny," Darcy cooed, her face pressed against the side of the car window as the nondescript sedan, sent by Stark himself, pulled up to the front of the compound. "I think I like our new digs already, Janey."

Jane sighed. "It's not ours, yet. We need to talk with Captain Haque and Stark first." Because, yes, she was a little hesitant about getting wrapped up with the government again. Shooting Darcy a sideways look, Jane added, if only to have someone on her side, "Don't forget who stole your iPod."

Darcy was affronted at the mere idea. She scrunched her nose in disgust. "I would _never_."

Their driver came around and opened the door for them, even though both Darcy and Jane were completely capable of opening said door themselves. Jane still wondered at that, sometimes. Did rich people like Stark need to have even the tiniest things done for them?

"Ma'am," the driver nodded at her as she stepped out. "Your belongings, along with Miss Lewis's, will be taken to your respective rooms."

Jane tried to not scowl at the obvious use of ' _ma'am_ '. She was barely thirty. ' _Ma'am_ ' was supposed to be way off in the distance, wasn't it?

"Thank you," she told the driver begrudgingly.

Darcy looped her arm through Jane's and began leading the pair to the front doors of the compound. Another man was there to open the door for them yet again, but Jane didn't have any time to wrinkle her nose at the (admittedly nice) gesture because Captain Haque was already waiting inside for her.

"Dr. Foster and Miss Lewis," the captain smiled easily, revealing a slight dimple in her left cheek. The woman, taller than Jane by at least a foot, offered a firm handshake first to Jane, then Darcy. Jane had to blink at her several times: it was one thing to see the imposing woman on television, it was another entirely to meet her in person. Like the infamous Black Widow, Captain Haque was beautiful, mystifying, and more than a little intimidating. The captain's sharp gray-green eyes settled on Jane, ending the scientist's stare. "How were your travels?"

"Pretty bitchin'," Darcy said, causing Jane to roll her eyes in embarrassment. "Stark must really want Janey to stay because he sent a private jet and everything. And by everything, I mean a shit ton of top shelf liquor."

Amusement twinkled in the captain's gaze. She pressed her lips together to keep from smiling too widely. "I'm glad to hear it."

And now Jane needed to jump in. "It was really kind of you to make arrangements for us to stay on such short notice, Captain. I wasn't really expecting the defunding so quickly…"

"Nonsense," Captain Haque waved away the uncertainty in Jane's tone. "As far as I'm concerned, you and Miss Lewis are part of the team. Besides, I'm sure you've heard the news about our, uh, most recent houseguests."

"You mean Thor," Darcy said obviously, before turning to Jane with a nudge and quirked eyebrows. "She means Thor."

"Yep, I got that one, Darce." If Jane wasn't mistaken, she wasn't the only one cringing at the mention of Thor. Even the Captain looked a bit uncomfortable. Which brought Jane to her next point. "Is he around?"

Yeah, that was definitely a cringe on the Captain's face. But Jane couldn't exactly deduce why. Did the new Avenger's Captain and the Asgardian king not get along? "He's in a meeting with the Norwegian ambassador currently," she replied evenly, though something was clearly off. "Spends most of his time meeting with the man, to be honest. They've got a lot to discuss."

"Of course."

"Did you want me to notify him that you're here? FRIDAY can do that for you."

Jane felt panic in her belly at the thought. "No! I mean, no. No, not necessary. I was just wondering. I wouldn't want to pull him from… whatever it is he has to do. I was just, um. Curious." Then she met the Captain's gaze, which probably looked a lot like her own expression (cringe-worthy), and Jane suddenly felt like honesty would get her a long way with this woman. "I'm actually hoping to avoid him for as long as possible, to be truthful."

The conspiratorial smile that finally graced the captain's face, and even reached her eyes, was strange, no doubt, but not unwelcome. It made the woman seem a bit more human. "You and me both. So let me show you to your lab, and we can avoid him together."

Jane smiled back. "Lead the way."

000

"I've gotta be honest," the captain said as the trio entered the lab, with Jane stealing a glance at DR. JANE FOSTER printed on the door for a moment longer than was probably necessary, "I'm not exactly the science type, so I don't know what most of these machines do. But Tony assured me that you would find everything you need here."

The Captain was absolutely correct: just as Jane remembered from her previous tour of the lab, everything inside was state-of-the-art. Spectrometers, an entire corner for brainstorming with FRIDAY's touchless interface, and most importantly, an industrial looking coffee machine that could keep Jane fueled for days.

"This is amazing." Jane ran her fingers along the spotless, dustless marble tables reverently, already thinking up new ways in which she could start collecting data with all the equipment present. "They didn't even have stuff like this in Oslo."

"I'm glad it meets your standards," the Captain said, clasping her hands politely in front of her. Although the two had shared a brief moment of comradery just moments earlier, Jane was uncertain how to interact with the woman. Darcy, on the other hand, seemed to have no qualms.

"Is this my desk?" Darcy asked, peering excitedly at the massive, three-sided desk with a large Stark computer, a mini-fridge, and what appeared to be some kind of gaming console attached to it. "Frigga has blessed me, this is _my desk_." She nudged open the mini-fridge with her foot. "Boo-ya! Stark does his research. I'm _loaded_ with Monster."

Jane grinned affectionately at her assistant. Before she could turn to ask the Captain any more questions, though, a disembodied voice filled the room.

"Captain Haque," an Irish-sounding woman said. "I hate to interrupt, but it seems we have an issue that requires your attention in the War Room."

Jane's gaze darted to the woman standing at attention.

The captain offered Jane a contrite smile. "Sounds like duty calls, after all. Enjoy the new digs, Dr. Foster. Please let FRIDAY or me know if there's anything we can get you."

Before another 'thank you' could be uttered, the woman was gone.

"So," Darcy stated, blinking at Jane through her glasses as she plopped down in her new cushioned office chair. "This isn't so bad, right?"

No, Jane thought. Not bad at all.

000

That was the reigning thought until Jane realized who one of the Avengers' many 'houseguests' were. Up until that moment, Jane couldn't help but think about how lucky she was. She and Darcy each had their own private suites – pretty much apartments, really – in the dormitory building situated on the other side of the compound from her lab. She had ten scientists working under her, all from the top of their field and all as eager to create an Einstein-Rosen (Foster) Bridge as she was. People seemed friendly rather than cut-throat, like she was used to at the university, and whenever she passed someone in the hallway, she was given a respectful nod along with a "Doctor Foster".

It was a dream come true, really. To be surrounded by like-minded people who knew she could be successful in her field, that her dreams weren't all some sci-fi fantasy, that she was _right_ about there being other worlds (the Asgardians obviously being proof enough), but that she might also be right about a few other things she had in the works.

So of course, there had to be a catch.

It was late enough to have trouble labelling the time night or morning. Jane had finished geeking out over all the new gear Stark had set her up with (after sending Darcy to go check out the rest of the compound as the younger woman had obviously wanted to), and was headed back across the compound towards her new living space for the night. She wanted to get a decent night's sleep for once so she could dive right into work the next day.

She hadn't expected to nearly walk straight into the fallen second prince of Asgard as she was entering the dorms.

As some small consolation (maybe?), the God of Lies seemed just as surprised to see Jane as she was to see him. Hadn't Loki died… again? She had _been_ there. She had seen his corpse. Thor hadn't mentioned he was alive – but then again, it wasn't as if she and Thor were really priorities in one another's lives anymore. The new Asgardian king probably had way too much on his plate right now to visit his one-time girlfriend and mention, "Hey, you remember Loki, my crazy brother, the one who tried to kill us once in Puente Antiguo, same guy who tried to take over New York? Yeah, he didn't die like we thought he did."

Of course, Thor would have been eons more eloquent.

"Jane Foster?"

Jane had been so dumbstruck at seeing the raven-haired prince that she hadn't realized her feet were glued to the floor as she stood half in, half out of the building, the palm of her hand flat against the cool glass door. Loki was peering at her through scrunched brows; though she couldn't quite make out the expression on his face, she hardly thought he looked _pleased_.

Right back at ya, buddy. Right back at ya.

The only words she could form were a hollow-sounding, "So, you're not dead."

The trickster's face lit up in a smile, though it was wane. "Astute as always, Dr. Foster. It's a wonder Thor didn't keep you as his pet for your superior brain alone."

Jane gritted her teeth. Her hand ached to slap him again, but she remembered how much it had stung the first time. No, Loki didn't deserve the time of day from her.

Setting her shoulders, she edged past him and towards the elevator down the hall that would take her to her new home. She could feel eyes on her back the entire walk there.

000

When Zora entered the War Room, Cap, Bucky, and Stark were already there. She fidgeted with the throwing knives sheathed at the front of her vibranium vest – a gift from King T'challa not long ago – and let her eyes rove over the map FRIDAY had pulled up in the center of the screen.

"Is that the Hermitage?" Zora asked, coming to stand before the map, noting the highlighted bogeys centered in one massive chamber and the news reel off to the side.

" _Yes, ma'am,_ " FRIDAY answered as the others glanced towards her. Nat and Clint slipped into the room, already dressed for battle. " _St. Petersburg police reported a break-in thirty minutes ago. The situation seemed to be under control until several officers were shot and numerous explosives went off. A scan of the building tells me there are at least eight hostiles inside, two officers down."_

As he swiped through some data sans his Iron Man suit, Stark made a face. "Any particular reason this showed up on our radar? It's not like we usually deal with heists."

" _Indeed_ ," the A.I. agreed. " _Since the arrival of the Asgardians, I've expanded my search protocols to include anything that might be linked to their arrival. Terrorist attacks, cyber attacks, unrest."_

"But like Tony said, this looks like a heist gone sideways," Bucky spoke up, arms crossed over his chest. Steve hovered close to his shoulder.

Zora squinted at the map. Something was niggling at the back of her mind, some piece of information from all that time she'd spent in Russia before becoming the Avenger's captain. The Asgardians, the Hermitage…

" _It would appear that way at first glance, Sergeant. But I've identified the artifacts being targeted as pre-Christian relics, native to the lands of Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland."_ A pause, and Zora was putting it together.

"Viking relics," Zora realized.

Nat glanced over at her, red brow quirked. "You mean Norse relics?"

" _Yes_ ," FRIDAY answered. " _It could be mere coincidence…"_

"But it could _not_ ," Zora offered, seeing the connection and how the heist ended up surfacing in the Avenger's emergency system. She glanced around the room, seeing that all were now accounted for: Steve and Bucky, tight-jawed, staring at her and awaiting orders; Tony still swiping through information as he posed some more questions to FRIDAY at a rapid-fire pace; Nat and Clint already grabbing various weapons from the vault adjacent to the War Room. Wanda and Vis had left town for a few days for a 'trip'… AKA, a lover's retreat, and Sam was back in DC for the time being, giving a talk at a Vet's conference.

Thor was around, obviously… But Zora desperately did not want Thor to be involved in this op. He was a king, now. A king just now forming his new kingdom. He had bigger matters to attend to.

Ignoring the guilt in her belly, she nodded at the others. "Be in the quinjet in five."

000

Zora crept along the long, lavish hallways that made up the Russian Hermitage, her footsteps utterly silent on the thick-carpeted floor. Eyes alert, taking in every shadow, she avoided the weak morning light filtering in from the many windows and kept her gun in hand, aimed at the ground.

The halls were vaguely familiar in the way that city streets you once walked as a child could be: there was a sense that she had been here, in this exact hallway, before, though she knew that the museum was so massive that it was unlikely. Natasha, being the other team member familiar with the museum, was also inside, creeping along hallways of her own, until they would flank the targets in the Norse section in the north-western sector.

On the comms, she heard Bucky speaking to local police, who seemed none too pleased that the Avengers had arrived on scene, but were placated when they were told that Clint would get their fallen comrades out safely. Steve was ground support, in case things went completely sideways, and Tony had the air. Because this wasn't a typical Avenger's mission, it had been agreed that stealth would be tactically superior over brute force.

Zora hoped she and Nat would be able to handle the issue, alone.

Faces from paintings nearly five-hundred years old peered down at the captain as she treaded along, touching her ear to tell Nat, "I'm nearly there."

"Same. Coming up from the southeast."

Down the hall, up to the right somewhere, there was a loud shout of pain. Zora frowned and tapped her earpiece again. "Barton – you got the officer's out?"

"Yeah, Cap," the archer replied quickly.

Another shout of pain echoed through the halls. Nat, too, seemed confused. "Barnes, did they mention if they had another officer inside?"

There was a short pause. "No," Bucky replied. "No others. Why?"

"Because it sounds like there's someone else here," Zora noted quietly. "Someone likely not with the targets."

"Affirmative. I've got eyes," Nat murmured. "Eight targets, like FRIDAY said. But Z – you're not gonna like this."

Rounding her own corner, sticking close to the ground and the shadows, Zora leaned forward and peered at the scene before her.

The Norse artifact room was massive. Tools, weapons, even depictions of Vikings dotted the space, but all of that was secondary to the eight cloaked figures in the center of the chamber and the lone figure, on his knees, face red from pain, teeth gritted, and sweat gathering on his brow.

Erik Selvig.

" _Fuck_."

"Yeah," Nat agreed. "Orders?"

"What?" Tony asked, before then asking FRIDAY what the situation was. "What's going on?"

"Dr. Selvig is here," Natasha informed him. "Very much against his will, it seems."

"The same Dr. Selvig that researched the Tesseract?"

"And was mind-fucked by Loki?" Clint was one to add, sounding displeased.

"Yes."

Zora surveyed the area. There weren't many places to hide… none at all, really. But if she could get their attention on her…

"Nat, I'm going to keep them busy. You get Selvig to safety. Understood?"

"Copy."

Steve chimed in quickly: "You're gonna take on eight targets at once? No, I'm coming in."

"Then come in _after_ we have Selvig out. But he takes priority."

Steve sighed in disapproval. Still, he said, "Copy."

Zora clenched her jaw and put her Glock back in its holster but kept it unfastened. Once all eyes were on her, she knew that Nat could get Selvig out, but that meant not getting him caught in the middle of a firefight.

Sighing, she stepped forward into the massive room, her hands up and out in a placating gesture, before calling attention to herself. "Gentlemen… and possibly ladies? Kinda hard to tell right now, to be honest." The air in the room shifted, thickened, before nine pairs of eyes landed on her. Despite herself, Zora's heart started thumping away in her chest.

Erik Selvig, from his place on the ground, muttered an, "Oh, thank the gods."

Because their faces were cloaked – with something that looked very similar to Thor's own red cloak, she noted – Zora couldn't read their expressions, but the tense, hostile stances all but one took were evident.

Ah, this was a little stupid, she cursed herself. It was a wonder no one pulled a weapon, yet.

"Sorry to break up the party…" she continued, trying for a fake smile. "But I was hoping we could have a little chat."

Zora could see Nat come up from another corridor behind the eight, crouched low. Just a few seconds and Selvig would be out of harm's way.

One of the cloaked figures stepped forth, body lined with tension, and a flicker of steel glinted in his hands. A sword. A fucking great sword. They were really going for the whole Viking aesthetic, weren't they?

"Captain Haque," the unknown man said, his accent thick – not Russian, no, but definitely from one of the Nordic countries. "I have heard much of you. But not that you were foolish enough to approach the Sons of Odin alone."

Sons of Odin? What?

"Oh, I very much doubt she's alone, Thragg," the most relaxed figure said – and that _voice_. That voice. She knew that voice.

A cold sweat broke out on her forehead, her palms grew clammy. She barely even noticed that Nat was nearly to Selvig… because that voice. It haunted her dreams. It reminded her, time and again, of why she couldn't be with Thor, not really. She had heard that voice one last time over the phone before an entire SHIELD facility blew up… killing the man she'd loved.

Or… not.

Tone breaking on the syllables, Zora asked, eyes wide, "Nathaniel?"

He stepped up next to the one named Thragg and slowly removed the hood that had hidden his features.

And there he was. Nathaniel. The man she had nearly married. The man she had almost given everything for. The man she had thought she'd failed all these years… Alive. Alive, not dead.

Not dead, _not dead_.

Her knees threatened to buckle. She placed a palm against the wall closest to her. And she felt _sick_.

"Zora," he greeted almost genially, almost kindly, but there was an edge just barely lining his tone, something dark present where before, years ago, there had only been light. "How are you, lover?"

"I've got Selvig," Nat said quickly, and a brief perusal of the area confirmed this. In the back of Zora's mind, where she had been trained to continue a mission no matter what, to focus no matter how things could go sideways or take her off guard, Zora knew she was supposed to do something. She was supposed to fire. To attack. Steve was on his way, surely. Tony would probably come in from the air.

But all she could do was stare at Nathaniel, at a complete loss.

That was when Steve busted into the room, then Bucky in a coordinated effort, and Tony announced he would be coming in over the comms right before a window shattered. An arrow sliced through the air, one of Barton's, and for a single moment, Zora feared she would watch it plant itself in Nathaniel's chest, that she would have to know him to die all over again, before Nathaniel raised a weapon of his own – a slim dagger, the length of his forearm – and launched it at her.

She just barely swept to the side, hearing the blade embed itself into the wall behind her.

 _Focus_.

Throwing herself into the fray, Zora had a mind for only one person in particular. Chiseled draw, messy frown hair, eyes like limestone.

Alive, not dead. Not _dead_.

She was seeing red. If she could only apprehend him…

One of the cloaked figures dropped to her right, and from the sound of it, he was choking on his own blood.

"No kill shots!" Zora ordered quickly, dodging a blow from an ancient-looking battle axe, sweeping the woman's feet out from under her while trying to calm the panic surging through her veins. "I want them alive."

She knocked another in the face, sent them sprawling towards Bucky, who used his bionic arm to wrestle the target to the floor before delivering a final hit. Nathaniel, she finally realized as she frantically looked at the chaos around her, had fled.

"Where did he go!?" she demanded of no one in particular, feeling fear bubble up in her belly. He can't be gone, not yet.

"FRIDAY said there's a runner heading towards the courtyard," Tony said, using his thrusters to dodge the path of a flying spear. "East!"

East. Zora sprinted, hands pumping at her sides, sliding on the floor as she rounded one corner and then another, reading the Russian signs that all pointed towards the gardens. Ahead of her, at least a hundred feet, she could see a black cloak flapping behind a figure, behind Nathaniel. He pushed through a set of doors leading outside, forcing Zora to run faster, to try to catch up.

Just as she sprinted through the doors, an unbelievable force hit her in the chest, throwing her sideways into the museum's outer walls. The impact knocked the wind from her lungs and she gasped for air, clutching at her chest armor to check for a wound that wasn't there, before glancing up at her attacker, limestone colored eyes focused intently on her.

"Nathaniel," she rasped out, quickly shoving to her feet. Something hot was dripping down her forehead, nearly dripped into her eyes – swiping it away, she found blood. "Stand down. Just stand down."

Nathaniel grinned at her. It looked macabre – like someone else was wearing the face of a man she once knew so well. "I can't do that. You'll understand."

He lifted something – it was steel and glinted dangerously in the sunlight. Adrenaline pumped thickly through Zora's veins, and everything seemed to happen so slowly after that. Zora pulled her weapon from its holster and aimed it at her former lover, the man that was supposed to be two years dead, and prepared to pull the trigger. But before she could, searing hot pain struck her shoulder. Her arm weakened, the Glock clattered to the ground, and Zora found herself falling to her knees bruisingly, all the while staring wide-eyed at the seax blade sticking out of her shoulder.

When she looked up again, Nathaniel was gone.

"Captain?" the voice sounded faded, and for a moment, Zora thought one of the Avengers had found her. It took a few seconds for her dazed mind to realize someone was asking for her on the comms. "Cap, you doing okay? Where are you?"

Zora grasped at the handle of the blade, looked stupidly at it, like all of this had been a dream, like it wasn't real.

Nathaniel had done this to her. He had nearly killed her. He was alive. Not dead. _Alive_.

As if things weren't enough of a mess, there was suddenly a massive thunderclap, a single bolt of white-blue lightning shooting down from the sky… and Thor, God of Thunder, King of Gods, stood in the courtyard just feet before Zora, his chest heaving with unbridled anger, his eyes still burning that imposing electric blue.

* * *

 **A/N** : I had one version of this chapter written, and then I felt really bad that I didn't properly write out the Hermitage since I've spent some time there, so I had to rewrite it… Sorry for the wait! I also realize I don't really do my best writing on this fic in general, so I'm going to have to try a little harder. Don't be weirded out if you see my style change a little – it's still me.

What are your thoughts? Jane and Loki aren't going to exactly fall deeply in love at first sight… Jane still has to speak to Thor… Zora's creepy ex is alive and part of whatever the hell the Sons of Odin is. And Thor… Thor is very unhappy with the woman he wants to be his queen.

Also, sorry if there's any confusion! Luckily, I think Eric Selvig will be able to help with that in the next chapter.

Oh, and I take some liberties with how Thor travels without his hammer.

Some things to look forward to in the next chapter: Erik Selvig cluing us in, a little bit, to what the heck is going on and who these supposed Sons of Odin are. Protective!Thor. Angry!Thor. Hot!Thor. Motherhen!Thor. Jane and Loki! Loki and Thor! Possibly some Jane and Thor, too.

One last thing, I promise. If you haven't already checked out the comic Thor: Goddess of Thunder, and you like badass female leads who are funny and relatable, then I highly recommend you do!


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N** : So much happened in the last chapter! Hopefully some of it gets cleared up here… and finally, Thor might understand why Zora is wary of being romantically involved, and Zora might realize that maybe, uh, she could be. Also, my apologies if the chapters start to get longer and you're not into that sort of thing. The plot has thickened, literally. Also, I'm going to start using more POVs. Sorry, my writing isn't usually this sloppy. Perhaps if I ever have the time, I'll rewrite and edit.

Also – thank you ALL soooo so much for the reviews! They mean so much to me. If I don't respond or get back to you, it's only because my life is so crazy busy right now that I barely even have the time to write! But your reviews mean the world to me, and they spur me on!

* * *

Eight:

The Betrayal

No matter how many times she was forced to use it, Zora would never feel comfortable in Dr. Helen Cho's regeneration cradle. Watching her skin get stitched back together – watching _fake_ skin get stitched together, really – unnerved her more than she ever cared to admit. But if it saved the nerves in her arm after being stabbed with an old, curved Viking blade, then she'd take it without complaint.

Watching the process of being put back together again also provided her some respite from the thunder god's angry, unrelenting stare. His eyes flashed an unnatural electric blue every now and again, making everyone in the room – Dr. Cho, Natasha, Tony, and Steve – grow a little more uneasy each time.

Thor was seething and it permeated the air itself. It smelled of burnt ozone, of raindrops, of the singe of electricity. As if that wasn't bad enough… a massive storm raged outside, thunderclaps breaking up the quiet hum of the cradle and bolts of lighting turning Dr. Cho's office a stark, disquieting white every so often.

"Shouldn't be much longer, Captain," Dr. Cho informed Zora, looking at something on her holo-screen, making adjustments here and there. "You'll be good as new in no time."

"Thanks, doc," Zora mumbled, steadfastly keeping her gaze on the nearly-closed wound. There was too much going on in her head right now to deal with Thor's anger – that Nathaniel was alive. That he was part of some group that called themselves the Sons of Odin who were, as far as the Avengers were concerned, a terrorist cell, and all of whom had managed to make an escape or disappear after Zora had fled the room. That Dr. Erik Selvig was somehow wound up in all of this.

That Nathaniel was _alive_.

Tony and Steve were bickering off to the side about something Zora didn't care to acknowledge at the moment. Natasha stood as a silent sentinel beside Zora, though her eyes, cool and impassive as always, would flit to Thor every so often. A few of Dr. Cho's assistants scurried around the lab. Thor's suffocating presence was lodged near the doorway, probably on purpose. So Zora wouldn't be able to leave without finally facing him.

It had been hard enough to look up at him in that garden halfway around the world, knife still sticking out from her shoulder, and read the look of utter betrayal on his visage while feeling the same thing deep in her gut. He had said nothing, approaching her with measured strides, scooping her up carefully into his arms, and walking her straight to the quinjet, where all of the first-aid was kept. Had said nothing, still, on the flight back to the compound. Just brooded in silence while storms raged on around them.

Now, as Zora watched the last stitch of skin close up, she felt dread pool heavy in her stomach. She pinched her eyes shut and breathed, tried desperately to cling to the sense of control and focus she had managed to build up while on the quinjet. She couldn't fall apart right here, in front of everyone – especially in front of Thor. She needed to be alone.

Just as she was about to stand, Nat finally shifted on her feet and nodded at the grim-faced thunder god. "Thor," she said in that cool tone of hers. "A word?"

Zora dared a glance up. Something other than anger or betrayal broke on the god's face as he looked first to Natasha, bemused, before glancing one last time at Zora. His eyes flashed in that ethereal way yet again, but finally, he gave a short nod.

As the thunder god slipped from the room, Nat paused in the doorway and gave Zora a wink.

Thank the gods, the Norns, Ra or whoever, for Natasha Romanoff.

After thanking the good Dr. Cho for her work, Zora, too, slipped quietly from the room. Neither Nat or Thor were in sight, allowing the captain a brief sigh of relief, before she wandered bleary-eyed and emotionally exhausted to her room, where she collapsed on the floor and wept.

000

"I'm not asking you to do nothing," Natasha said calmly, her hands clasped behind her back, her spine effortlessly straight. "All I'm asking is that you give her some time. She thought he was dead, Thor. I think you can understand a thing or two about that." She arched a brow, giving the pacing thunderer a level stare.

He cut a formidable path back and forth across the Avenger's Common Room, knifing this way, then that. His battle armor was still on, his red cloak, now worn cinched at his lower back in the style of a gladiator since his return, flapping with every twist. To say the god was angry was an understatement, but Natasha Romanoff had murmured lullabies to the Hulk himself, so an angry god was hardly something to bat an eye at.

Not that she wanted to think about the Hulk, whatsoever, or the man who shared a soul with the beast.

"She could have died," Thor growled, another charge of thunder outside enunciating his words. "Had I been notified of the mission, as a proper _Avenger_ , then all of this could have been avoided. It was _reckless_."

Nat refrained an eye roll. "If you had discovered Loki was alive on a mission, back when you thought he was dead, wouldn't you have done something reckless?"

The question brought the king up short. He exhaled loudly through his nose, jaw clenched. Staring out the window at the storm of his own creation, he made his hands into fists. The answer was obvious to both in the room.

 _Yes_.

"Regardless," Thor grit out, "I should have been involved. I'm still an Avenger."

"An Avenger distracted by negotiating for a kingdom for an entire race of people. An Avenger who just declared his intentions to court our Captain, who is already conflicted about her feelings for you." Nat didn't like to deal low blows, but keeping the god from charging into Zora's room, from allowing the woman space to come to terms with Nathaniel being alive and plunging a dagger into her shoulder, to boot, was her priority.

Carding fingers through his short hair, Thor huffed. When he turned to face Natasha, the grim lines on his face had softened. He looked lost. "Natasha, you must understand. Whether or not she wants me in return… I want to keep her safe. I want to give her that much, if she will have nothing else of me."

Nat sighed, long and deep. "Perhaps this is the moment where you put two and two together and realize that, yeah, she wants something more from you Thor, but it's this man, it is _Nathaniel_ , that has held her back. And now he's alive. That fucker is alive." Pausing a moment, Natasha allowed her anger to simmer down. "And she needs to come to terms with it."

Understanding finally dawned in Thor's eyes, followed quickly by shame. He ducked his head. "I have been selfish, I see. I just…"

"You just want to keep her safe," Natasha finished for him, nodding her understanding. "Trust me when I say we all do. But on this… She just needs time."

The storm outside waned. Rain still poured from the sky, but it was lighter, less violent. Melancholy.

Thor's shoulders drooped just the slightest. "I understand."

000

"Boss lady," Darcy crowed, frowning at Jane as she perched on the edge of the scientist's desk. Nodding over her shoulder at the setting sun, Darcy said, "I'm pretty sure Stark made sure you had a lab with windows when he chose this as your place, so poor little lab monkeys like me could go home at, y'know, a reasonable time, and not at like midnight, which is totally when I have this lab-monkey-party to attend. Tonight." She kicked her feet around in front of her very much like a little kid, forcing Jane to stifle a smile.

"A lab-monkey-party?"

Darcy grinned. "Yeah! You know, for all the poor unfortunate souls who are not gifted with the brain power of Jane Foster. But you're invited, too. Just… no Science. It's literally a requirement. Unless it goes into mixing drinks."

Jane smiled fondly at the dark-haired girl. "Nah, Darce, that's fine. You can go ahead and go for the night. I'm just gonna look over some more numbers. I want to be prepared when Stark comes in next week to discuss the bridge's power-source."

Darcy pulled a face, but stood up regardless. She gave her boss a mock-salute. "Whatever you say, boss lady. But don't stay up too late, you hear? And eat that poptart! I walked all the way to the kitchen just to get that for you."

Laughing, Jane grabbed at the tinfoil-wrapped pastries. "Got it, Darce. Have a nice night."

"You too!"

In truth, Jane wouldn't have even noticed the sun setting unless Darcy had pointed it out. She had barely settled in to the New Avenger's Facility when she dove straight back into her work on the Eistein-Rosen-Foster Bridge. Not only did she want to be able to impress Stark when he met with her the following week… but, well, she wanted to prove useful to Thor after he had endured so much pain these past months. A way to travel the realms again… maybe that could be an olive branch on which a new friendship between them could blossom.

A voice from right over her shoulder startled Jane from the thought.

"How you mortals endure looking into these bright screens for so long eludes me," the lilting, accented voice said, and it didn't take a genius to figure out who had decided to pay her a visit.

Loki.

Jane's heart started thumping, hard and fast, in her chest.

"Although the lot of you do seem quite endeared to it. Perhaps there's something I'm missing."

Her mouth fixed in a scowl, Jane turned in her desk chair and faced the raven-haired prince. He was standing hardly a foot away from her, towering over her already petite form, with his hands regally posed behind his back and his chin canted up. If she wasn't mistaken, there was mirth dancing in his eyes.

Of course, leave it to someone like Loki to get joy out of frightening her.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

She was proud her voice came out so level. Jane could almost convince herself she was undaunted by his presence… Almost.

Loki grinned. It was a similar species of the one she had seen before, on the dark world, where he had then seemed quite mad. But this grin… it wasn't as dark, as threatening, as it had once been. It was just… mischievous?

Well, God of Mischief and all that. Wasn't like she had just discovered the secrets of the universe or anything.

"Can I not pay an old acquaintance a visit?" Loki asked innocently, going so far as to bat his eyelashes at her once. She had to give it to him – he was good at playing the _who, me?_ card.

"Even 'acquaintance' is a strong word."

The prince rolled his eyes, relaxing his stance just the slightest. "Oh, come now, Jane Foster. I did save your life, or do you not recall? Mortal brains are so fallible, I suppose…"

Jane snorted. It was unladylike, sure, but she didn't care to act like much of a lady around the fallen prince of Asgard. "I'm pretty sure you only did that to win favor with Thor before you 'died', but sure. We can say you saved me, if it gets you to leave my lab. I have work to do, Loki."

He stepped around her desk, as if he hadn't heard a thing she just said, bright green eyes taking in the lab around them, the various machines. He hummed to himself during his perusal before stopping in front of her monitor, gem-colored gaze finding her once more. "It seems I haven't given you enough credit. You are persistent, aren't you?"

Crossing her arms over her chest, Jane tried not to squirm under his intense stare. She felt like he was asking her two questions at once, but couldn't for the life of her figure out what or why. "Will you please. Leave."

Again, he ignored her. He straightened his shoulders, and she remembered she was in the presence of royalty. It had always bothered her when she was with Thor… that she would never be as graceful, as elegant, as lovely as him or the other Asgardians. And Loki… He was a different story altogether. His grace was more feline, more intrinsic. She tried, herself, to straighten her spine, and found herself lacking.

"I think once you hear what bargain I'd like to make with you, Jane Foster, you will not so quickly dismiss me."

Shit.

Against her better judgment, Jane was always one to be hungry for information… even if that information came from a trickster god. Ugh. "Fine… I'm listening."

000

After calling a team meeting at 09:00 the next day, Zora stood at the head of a glass conference table, her arm still a little sore from the cradle and her eyes a little bloodshot from crying, but her posture was battle-ready and her expression was composed. Just as a captain should be. Strong, for her team.

"All I know," Erik Selvig was saying slowly, his gaze continually flitting to the Norse king in the room, "is that they called the artifact 'stormbreaker'. And before you ask me, no, I don't know what that means. I'm not an archaeologist." He rubbed at his arms, clearly uncomfortable with the long line of questions aimed at him. "There had been more of them before you arrived." This was said to Zora, in particular. "Four more. They took off once they'd had it. Looked like an old battle-axe to me. I've no clue what they'd want with something like that."

They had been listening to the Dr. Selvig for the better part of an hour as he answered questions posed by numerous Avengers as well as a few members of the Asgardian council accompanying Thor. Zora pitied the scientist – the old phrase 'being in the wrong place at the wrong time' took on a new meaning when it came to Selvig. First Puente Antiguo and the Destroyer, then to be set under Loki's mind control, Dark Elves in England, and now this?

"Thank you for your time, Dr. Selvig," Zora said graciously, nodding at a SHIELD guard standing watch to allow the man out. "You should try to lay down, continue to rest, today. You've helped a lot."

Selvig nodded. Before he stepped from the room, however, he stopped, his pale eyes once more finding Zora. "Wait – there's something else. Something else they said. The one… He seemed like their leader."

"Nathaniel," Zora supplied the name, keeping her voice as toneless as possible, but her hands clenched at her sides.

"Yes, that one. He seemed to know you'd be coming." Selvig stared at Zora intently. "You, specifically, Captain Haque."

Selvig left quickly after that. Zora was rattled, but kept a tight lid on her unruly emotions – all the tears she had managed to shed the night before left her feeling mostly numb today, helped her stay clear-headed.

It was Thor who spoke up next. "Stormbreaker," he said, his voice rumbling over the syllables thoughtfully. "I have heard of this weapon. My father spoke of it, long ago."

"Saying what, exactly?" Clint asked, absently twirling an arrow in his hand as he leaned against the conference room's glass walls.

Thor's brow furrowed in thought. "I can't remember precisely – Loki always paid closer attention to our father's tales than I – but I believe it had something to do with a titan, a world-snake, and the ability for any race in the nine to become Asgardian. Immortal." He looked around the room, at the quiet, disconcerted expressions. "But it was only ever a story."

Zora raised her head to the ceiling and sighed heavily. "A titan. A _world_ -snake. And the ability to become Asgardian. I can't even comprehend what those first two mean…" She shook her head, trailing off. Daring to look at the Asgardian king for the first time that day, she asked, "Are you sure it was only ever a story? Because I remember reading about the myths of Thor and Loki as a child… and now here you are."

The atmosphere in the room turned grim.

"I cannot be certain," Thor admitted. "But I will seek my brother's council on this."

"And you're positive your brother has nothing to do with it?" Steve asked skeptically, one arm splayed on the table in front of him. "Because last time Loki was on Earth, he wasn't exactly playing by our rules."

Thor stared the former captain down. "Of this, I am certain, Rogers. My brother is not involved in these dealings."

Tony, surprisingly, spoke up. "Gotta say, I'm with Rogers on this one. I don't trust Loki further than I can throw him, and Wikipedia says he's like nine thousand pounds for some reason, so…" He shrugged, as if to say, _what can you do?_

Biting back a quick remark, Thor took a moment before addressing the room. "I know that none of you, save for possibly Banner, have reason to trust Loki. But I am vouching for him. And I give you my word."

Zora shifted on her feet, sighing. "All right," she conceded. Half the team looked at her in surprise, the other half in annoyance. "If you trust him, Thor…" When she looked up at the thunder god, and their gazes locked, she had to remember to breathe and keep talking. "Then so do I. Until he gives us a reason not to, at least."

Thor nodded at her gratefully. His eyes flashed with something she couldn't quite get a read on – concern, perhaps. "Thank you, Captain."

"And this guy, Nathaniel?" Bucky asked, sitting left of Steve. He looked around before focusing on Zora. "What about him?"

Zora bit the inside of her cheek. "Another matter we'll have to look into. Last I knew… he was dead."

There was an awkward silence. Tony clapped his hands together, smiling wanly. "Well, no one said this job was easy, but at least it's always interesting, right?"

Zora didn't much agree. "You're all dismissed," she said at last. "We'll reconvene when we have more information."

On Zora's way out, Tony stopped her, sympathy in his eyes. "Look, kid. I know things between you and Point Break are shaky, right now. And that you like the big guy. And that now there's a douchebag ex-boyfriend running around, very much not dead. But I hope… I just really hope that won't cloud your judgment." He looked down at his hands, frowning. "I created Ultron, after all. And I thought I was doing a good thing."

Zora rested a hand on Tony's shoulder. "I hear you, Tony. I really do."

000

Jane had nearly fallen face-forward onto her keyboard in exhaustion at least three times now. It was nearing eleven in the morning and she hadn't slept for over twenty-four hours… but she _couldn't_. Not after what Loki had told her, eyes twinkling with the knowledge that she would not refuse him.

It rolled over and over in her head, a tempest, pushing her to work harder.

That he had the key to building the Bifrost – a power source able to withstand the bridge's need for immense energy – and that he would give it to her… for a price. The price being that, after she has the bridge built, she would allow him to be the first to use it, to cross into another realm. Or, in his words, "To retrieve something that had long ago been stolen."

Of course, Jane didn't trust the god for a second. She would clue Thor into her 'deal' with Loki before the time ever came for the trickster god to use her bridge for whatever nefarious purpose he actually had hidden up his sleeve. She wasn't _stupid_.

Her fingers flew over the keyboard at a rapid-fire pace, but even she could tell she was burning out. Darcy hadn't come in yet – it had probably been a long night at that 'lab-monkey-party' she went to – and Jane hadn't even spared a moment to make coffee. The last sip of caffeine she'd had had been somewhere around three a.m. and it had been the final dregs of a coffee long gone cold.

She was exhausted.

Writing one last line of code, Jane heaved a sigh. She wanted to keep working, but if her thoughts kept turning to her new, warm bed… then what was the use? Everything needed to be top-notch and refined… not the fumes of a half-awake scientist.

After reluctantly shutting down her system, Jane gathered up her bag, rubbed at her eyes, and shoved out the door labeled _DR. JANE FOSTER_. It still brought a small smile to her lips.

She passed through R&D, nodding at various other scientists she passed, and into the hallway that connected this part of the compound to the next.

When she was crossing through the Avenger's common space… that's when she finally saw him, his massive, hulking figure hard to miss on the couch that seemed dwarfed in comparison to him.

Thor.

Even now, even with all the romance and love she'd ever felt for him long dead, he still took her breath away. Especially since his hair was _short_ … Something that seemed so unlike the Thor she had once known.

He was bent at the waist, head bowed and elbows on his knees, as if in deep concentration… or sadness, she realized. Rounding the couch and able to see his profile, she spotted a deep frown on his lips, creating lines where none had been before.

Sensing another presence, the god looked up, his stormy blue eyes shifting from grim to surprised when they landed on her. "Jane?"

Jane gave a half-assed smile. She was exhausted, she had just struck a deal (however false it actually was) with her ex's brother, and now she was looking at said ex… A lot for one woman to process all at once.

"Hey, Thor. You okay?"

The god huffed a laugh. "No, I suppose not. But never mind that… How are you?"

"I'm… well." Was she? She was. Mostly. The Einstein-Rosen-Foster Bridge, her entire life's work, was just within reach… "Actually, I'm good. Just tired." And then, because she had never been able to withstand Thor's sad-eyed looks for long, "What's got you down?"

It was at that precise moment, as Jane took a seat in a comfy recliner adjacent to the king, that another voice started speaking from down the hall, giving quick orders and sounding altogether put-out. Jane craned her neck around and spotted the captain striding towards them, her eyes on a tablet in hand, while Natasha Romanoff trailed behind her. Both women looked grim.

"I don't care what Ross says," the captain was muttering. "They're terrorists. _He's_ a terrorist. Which should give us access to any intel they might've collected on him. If not, we'll get our hands on it anyway – Ross _knows_ that."

"He does," Natasha allowed, and as they passed by Jane, she gave the astrophysicist a brief smile. "But he takes his orders from the Secretary…"

"Who would rather see me fail," Captain Haque finished with a huff. "Great." Absorbed in whatever data she was looking at, the captain had failed to notice either Jane or Thor in the seating area as she and Natasha continued on their way… wherever Avengers captains and world-class assassins went. But when Jane glanced back at Thor and found his gloomy eyes trailing after the captain…

The pieces clicked together.

" _Oh_ ," Jane stuttered a moment, looking from the door the woman had disappeared to, to the god's face. Thor turned his stare on her, bemused. "Oh, okay. That totally makes sense now."

"What does?" the thunderer questioned, brow furrowed.

"Oh, come _on_ , Thor. I'm not stupid."

The very idea seemed offensive to the god. "Of course not, Jane. You're one of the most intelligent beings I know."

Wow… That was actually pretty nice to hear. But Thor had always been nice.

"Yeah, but… You. You and Captain Haque."

This brought a shadow over his face once more. "There is nothing to speak of between me and Captain Haque."

But the pieces had already fallen together for the scientist. The Captain's desire to avoid Thor, the uneasiness of her expression when the god was mentioned, and now the god's own somberness and the way he looked at her…

"But you want there to be, right?"

He glanced sideways at Jane. That was answer enough.

"Then what's stopping you?"

"It is not that there is anything stopping me. It is that… I suppose I'm simply worried." He stared at his hands. "Very much so, in fact."

"Then, I dunno… It's my experience that expressing your concern for someone is a good way to show you care. I think." She wasn't exactly in the best position to give romantic advice, especially considering she and this man had ended things between themselves already. But after everything he had been through lately… "You deserve to be happy, Thor. And if the Captain is as great as I've heard, then so does she."

"And if she doesn't want my concern?"

"I guess there's only one way to find out. Besides, if all else fails… do the whole arm thing."

His forehead crinkled. "The arm thing?"

"Yeah. That thing you do…" Jane tried to mimic it by crossing her arms in the always-confident way the thunder god did, but failed terribly. "Y'know, when you make your muscles look even bigger."

Thor laughed. Actually laughed. It was a sound she hadn't heard in so long and brought a smile to her lips. "You think that'll work?"

"God, yes. No woman in her right mind could resist _that_."

000

Zora turned the ring in her fingers, watching the way the stone glinted in the low light of her apartment as the sun set behind her. She hadn't looked at the damn thing since that field office had gone up in flames two years ago… but looking at it now, she found it ugly. Repulsive. A _lie_.

In a paroxysm of anger, she threw the tiny thing at her wall, with little satisfaction. It merely clinked against the paint, leaving the smallest of marks, before pattering to the floor.

She stalked across the room and yanked her pillow from her bed and screamed into it, aching to get all of this fury out of her body, this poisonous feeling away from her bones where it wanted to nest inside of her and grow.

Being unable to sincerely deal with this betrayal was tearing her apart. It was making her lose focus, making her see red.

Nathaniel… She had been prepared to marry him. An act so unthinkable before she had met him. Something that went against her very nature, maybe. But for him… she had been willing to do so much, to give up so much…

Another scream into the down-filled pillows, and she was exhausted. She dropped onto her bed gracelessly, rolled onto her back, and stared up at the ceiling, half-numb.

A soft knock at her door brought with it a distraction. The food, no doubt, from the kitchen. She'd been having it sent up so much lately, rather than joining the others at the long table. She could be strong for them, she could, but in order to do so… She needed to find some sort of _release_.

"Come in," Zora said weakly, not even bothering to sit up.

The door opened. There was a moment's hesitation before a voice questioned, "Zora? Are you unwell?"

Zora sat upright instantly, her bleary eyes narrowed on the thunder god now standing half-inside her apartment. "Thor? Is something wrong?"

"Must something be wrong for me to seek you out?" There was a genuine question in his tone, and Zora wanted to berate herself for always being so out of touch.

"No, of course not. I just wasn't expecting you."

"I was on my way here… I heard muffled screaming." His brow creased while Zora's belly dipped in embarrassment. Ah. She would have to be more careful. "Zora… I am worried for you." He said this as if she might challenge him on the matter, as if he would argue that he _was_ worried until he was blue in the face, as if he was maybe tired of pretending otherwise or worrying from the distance she had put him at. "Please…"

"Come in, Thor," she said wearily, gesturing for him to shut the door.

Blond eyebrows rose just the slightest, but he quickly complied, as if she might rescind the invitation any moment. The door shut quietly behind him. He stood in front of it, his hands once more clasped in front of him in a way Zora was beginning to recognize a nervous tick.

At any other moment in time, anywhere else, she might've found the sight endearing. She, Zora Haque, mortal, made Thor, King of Gods, nervous? It was almost laughable. Except it wasn't. Everything seemed too gloomy, now.

"You can sit down, if you'd like," Zora offered, gesturing towards the couch not far from her bed. She'd been insistent on having a small apartment when Tony had set everything up – too much space made her anxious. Too many exits and corners to keep an eye on.

Thor stared at her a moment longer, the concern plain on his face, before nodding sharply and crossing towards the couch to sit. On his way, however, his brows scrunched up and he paused, gaze on the floor.

"What is this?"

He bent at the waist, long, strong fingers picking up the dainty ring Zora had just thrown, before straightening up, confused. Zora's stomach flipped in the worst way. That was something Thor was never supposed to see – something no one was ever supposed to see. No one had known, after all.

"I…" she searched for some way to explain the ring, but came up short. God of Lies, she was not.

Sensing her unease, Thor considered the tiny piece of jewelry again, shrewd. She hadn't thought it was possible, but the frown on his lips deepened. "An engagement ring."

A statement, not a question. Why Loki seemed to think Thor was such an idiot would always be beyond her.

Still, he looked at her for confirmation.

Zora stared at a spot on the floor, lip caught between her teeth. "Yeah." She shoved a strand of hair out of her face, swallowed thickly.

The air cackled. It felt like she was holding her hand close to an electrical current – it felt alive. Raising her eyes, she watched Thor glare at the little object as if it offended the universe itself, as if its very existence was sacrilege. His eyes flashed blue, just the slightest, and he clenched his jaw so tightly she was surprised she didn't hear the sound of shattering teeth. "So the mortal man had the gall to nearly kill the woman he would've made his wife?" It didn't seem like a question he needed answered. Looking at Zora, Thor's eyes burned. "Tell me that is not the case, Zora. Tell me something so heinous hasn't happened to you."

Tears burned in her eyes, but she held them back. "It doesn't matter, anymore. He'll pay for what he's done."

"He will," Thor said with more conviction than she had expected. The air still felt electric, his anger brewing. Rain pattered against her window, loud as bullets. "On Frigga's own soul, I swear he will."

"It's nothing you have to be so concerned with –"

Taking a large step towards her, Thor cut her off. "It is." His voice sounded like a plea and a demand, all at once. "It is something I am very concerned with, Zora. Can't you see that? Don't you understand?" His voice had risen, a flash of lightning bolted down from the sky beyond the window, and Thor pinched his eyes shut, trying to calm his breathing. He was so _angry_. Sure, she had expected him to feel some sort of way about the ring, about Nathaniel, but not like this. Not so… protective. So genuinely hurt _for_ her.

Opening his azure eyes once again, he watched her carefully. "I am worried for you, Zora. This…" He glanced at the ring. "The others do not know about how deeply you've been betrayed." Again, not a question. Zora was almost relieved. She didn't have the heart to answer those sorts of questions right now.

"The others need their captain clear-headed and strong."

"Being strong does not mean you have to stand alone."

She looked away, played with a loose thread on her comforter. Was it wrong that, yes, in this moment, she did want the comfort Thor was offering her? Everything he had offered her? That she wanted to let his arms wrap around her, hold her, and just rest her head on his chest for a little while, to breathe?

Was it?

She had wanted it for so long, now, but it had always been something she thought was impossible.

"Thor…"

When their eyes met, she could tell he understood what she was thinking. His shoulders sagged – from relief or burden, she wondered? – and he clenched the ring in his hand. Stepping closer towards her, until he was only inches away, he searched her face.

"Tell me what you would have me do, Lady Zora, and I will do it. Anything."

Zora swallowed down her tears. She held out her hand, palm up. "Just… give me the ring, a moment."

Thor's heavy brow furrowed, but he did as she requested. His large, warm hand brushed against hers a moment, and she could taste the electricity that was him. The ring fell into her palm, tiny and glittering.

Pinching it between two fingers, she held it up, studied it for a long moment. There had been a time when the sight of it had brought a smile to her lips, had warmed her chest with hope.

She gritted her teeth.

Holding it out once more, she offered it to Thor. "I want you to crush it."

Thor stared at her for several beats. Whether he was gauging if she meant this or what she meant by it, she couldn't be sure, but when he finally took the trinket from her, she felt lighter, somehow.

The pair were silent as he cupped it in his massive hand, both watching the way the diamond glittered in the light of her room, how it sparkled when the lightning outside struck, until Thor's fist closed and the sinewy muscles of his forearms flexed. He crushed the diamond and its metal band into dust, opening his hand to reveal the gray glitter left behind, and looked up at Zora uncertainly.

Gathering the dust from his hand, Zora scooted off her bed and went to the window. Opening the latch, she stood forward and blew the dust out into the storm to let it mix with the rain.

When she turned back to Thor, he was watching her carefully.

"Thank you," she managed to get out, appalled to find that her chin was wobbling. "Thank you, Thor."

He didn't waste another second. He crossed towards her and gathered her up in his arms, just as she had secretly wanted him to, and held her snugly to his chest, his hand gently cupping her head to him. "You don't have to stand alone on this, Zora," he murmured, and she felt comforted by the way his chest rumbled when he spoke. "Let me stand with you."

She buried her face against him, taking in his scent, his strength, and finally let herself nod. "Okay."

* * *

 **A/N** : So much has happened! So much! What's Loki up to? What are they going to do about Nathaniel? What does this mean for Zora and Thor going forward? Guess you'll have to stick with me for the next chapter to find out! (: Please let me know what you think!


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